SCOTLAND

Departmental Manpower

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time employees his Department and its predecessor had in each year since 1997.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Information on staff numbers is routinely published in the Office's annual report, copies of which are in the House Library. A breakdown of part-time staff is not provided as identification of individuals may be possible in view of the numbers involved.

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether any senior staff in his Department are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.

David Mundell: No senior staff in the Scotland Office are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary.

Festivals and Special Occasions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department provided support to any organisations celebrating St Andrew's Day in 2011.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office supported the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland's annual St Andrew's tide visit to London. The Advocate-General and I attended a St Andrew's Day service in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft at Westminster before the Advocate-General hosted a lunch in Dover House to mark the occasion.
	Details of a St Andrew's Day concert by Ian McFarlane held in the Banqueting House, Whitehall were circulated to Scotland Office staff in Dover House should they wish to attend.
	A number of Whitehall Departments flew the Saltire flag on St Andrew's Day.

Festivals and Special Occasions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps his Department took to (a) mark and (b) promote St Andrew's Day in 2011.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), was in Brazil on St Andrew's Day promoting Scotland's business and exports. He was guest of honour at a St Andrew's Day reception at the United Kingdom consul's residence in Sao Paulo, and he issued a celebratory St Andrew's Day message via the media.
	The Advocate-General and I attended the St Andrew's Day service in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft at Westminster. Following this, the Advocate-General hosted the annual Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland's lunch in Dover House to mark the Moderator's annual St Andrew's tide visit to London. I also attended the lunch.

Sovereignty

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) letters and (b) emails his Department has received on holding a referendum on independence for Scotland in the last 12 months.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has received (a) 29 letters and (b) 11 e-mails on holding a referendum on independence for Scotland in the last 12 months.

TRANSPORT

A14: Cambridgeshire

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the likely effects of the proposed expenditure on the A14 in Cambridgeshire on (a) levels of congestion, (b) average travel times and (c) the number of accidents.

Michael Penning: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The £20 million package was developed from a list of Highways Agency and local authority proposed scheme ideas which are considered most likely to reduce congestion and travel times and improve safety and resilience on the A14 in the short term. Proportionate and quantified assessment of the benefits of the measures will be carried out as part of the pre-implementation preparations to ensure the schemes are optimally designed and offer value for money.

A31: Dorset

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if she will take steps to reduce the length of time that all side roads from the Canford Bottom roundabout will be closed during the current construction works;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the length of time during which all side roads from the Canford Bottom roundabout will be closed during the current construction works.

Michael Penning: Revisions to the programme of the current construction works at the Canford Bottom roundabout have reduced the total length of time the side roads will be affected from 12 to eight weeks.
	Due to the phasing of this work, Ham Lane/Wimborne Road West (Ferndown side) will be closed for two weeks. All side roads are then closed for four weeks, followed by closure of Canford Bottom/Wimborne Road West (Wimborne side) for two weeks.
	Further to our meeting on 5 December 2011, the Highways Agency is looking at ways to further reduce the time the side roads will be closed. They are investigating extended hours or 24/7 working, although this will have to be considered with the likely disruption to local residents.

Aviation: Training

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether she has any plans to increase the levels of regulatory protection for students on flight training courses who have paid large sums in advance for their courses;
	(2)  whether she has any plans to increase the regulatory powers of the Civil Aviation Authority in respect of the financial situation of flight training schools.

Theresa Villiers: There are currently no plans to change the level of regulatory protection for students of Flight Training Organisations (FTO) in the UK, or the Civil Aviation Authority's powers in respect of the financial oversight of approved FTOs.

Cardiff Airport

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the future of Cardiff airport.

Theresa Villiers: DFT Ministers have not had any recent discussions with the Welsh Government regarding the future of Cardiff airport.
	The Government are currently developing a sustainable framework for UK aviation. In March we published a scoping document to initiate a dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders on the future direction of aviation policy, in response to which the Welsh Government have submitted their views.

Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff of her Department have been disciplined due to drug offences in the last 12 months.

Norman Baker: The central Department and six of its executive agencies can confirm that there have been no cases where a member of staff has been disciplined due to drug-related offences. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is not able to answer as it would incur disproportionate costs.

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether any senior staff in (a) her Department and (b) its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if she will publish her policy on such payments.

Norman Baker: No senior staff in the Department for Transport, its executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies are paid in this way. Our policy is to pay all staff through payroll, by automatic bank transfer.

Procurement

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which services her Department has outsourced in each of the last five years.

Norman Baker: No contracts have been outsourced by the Department for Transport since April 2006.

Parliamentary Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

Norman Baker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 November 2011, Official Report, column 576W, to the hon. Member for Hemsworth (Jon Trickett).
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the session. Statistics relating to Government Department's performance for the 2009-10 parliamentary session were previously provided to the committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Heathrow Airport

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will commission research into the effect on the economy of not constructing a third runway at Heathrow airport.

Theresa Villiers: The coalition Government have made absolutely clear their opposition to a third runway at Heathrow.
	We want to see a successful aviation sector which facilitates economic growth and addresses its environmental impacts. We will issue a Sustainable Framework for UK Aviation for public consultation in spring 2012.

Intercity Express Programme

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Intercity Express Programme carriages will enter service in each of the next 10 years.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport is currently conducting commercial discussions with Agility Trains. The precise numbers of carriages and their rate of delivery will remain under negotiation as the contract moves towards financial close.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to answer the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 20 October 2011 with regard to Mr T Dowden.

Justine Greening: I replied to the right hon. Member on 15 November 2011.

Motor Vehicles: Lighting

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to prevent the unnecessary use of fog lights in conditions of good visibility.

Michael Penning: The use of front or rear fog lamps is prohibited other than in conditions of seriously reduced visibility. Enforcement of road traffic law is a matter for the police. However, guidance on the correct use of fog lights is also provided in the Highway Code, which advises that seriously reduced visibility is when the driver cannot see further than 100 metres (328 feet).
	To help prevent rear fog lamps inadvertently being left on, they must be designed to automatically switch off when all other lamps are turned off and then to remain off until deliberately switched on again. Alternatively an audible warning must be given if the driver leaves the vehicle with the rear fog lamps on.

Postcodes

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department uses postcodes for purposes other than the postage of mail.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport primarily uses postcodes for the postage of mail. Other uses of postcodes can include identification of local driving test centres, creation of property records and for journey planning purposes. However, wider use of postcode data is not centrally recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Railways

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the potential of magnetic levitation technology for use in the next generation of high-speed trains.

Justine Greening: Work by the Department for the 2007 White Paper, “Delivering a Sustainable Railway”, found that magnetic levitation technology would be significantly more expensive than high-speed rail and would not enable trains to run seamlessly onto existing inter-city routes, serving a wider range of destinations. The few instances of magnetic levitation systems in use around the world operate on a relatively short point-to-point basis and scaling the technology up to a national network is unproven. There are no plans to further consider magnetic levitation as an alternative to a high-speed rail network.

Railways

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations she has received on the use of MagLev trains in the UK.

Justine Greening: The Department for Transport regularly receives correspondence regarding a range of technologies, including the use of MagLev trains in the UK. Since my appointment I have not met with any promoters of such technology.

Shipping: Rescue Services

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department has conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the withdrawal of emergency towing vehicle funding comparing the south-west of England and the north-west of Scotland.

Michael Penning: The decision to withdraw the emergency towing vessels (ETVs) was part of the comprehensive spending review package announced in October 2010, and reflected the Government's judgment about the balance of risk of pollution around the UK coast in the event of a maritime accident. This decision was based on the then current running costs of the ETV contract, and the determination that the costs of any future pollution incident will be borne by the polluter on a cost recovery basis. There was no specific cost-benefit analysis comparing the south-west of England and north-west of Scotland.

Thameslink: Rolling Stock

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 419W, on the Thameslink Railway Line: rolling stock, what assessment her Department made of the effect on employment of the decision to establish Siemens plc and XL Trains as preferred bidder for the Thameslink Rolling Stock contract.

Theresa Villiers: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 July 2011, Official Report, columns 205-6W, to the question from the right hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr Denham)

Transport: Infrastructure

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the additional road and rail infrastructure required to meet demand at existing standards for the (a) upper and (b) lower limits of the population forecast by the Office for National Statistics by 2050.

Theresa Villiers: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 14 November 2011, given to the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Cathy Jamieson), Official Report, column 580W.

Transport: Snow and Ice

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when (a) she, (b) other Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department last met representatives of the Independent Review of Winter Resilience.

Norman Baker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 May 2011, Official Report, columns 581-2W. No further meetings have taken place between the Department for Transport and the Independent Review of Winter Resilience panel members, who published their final report on 22 October 2010, and disbanded as a panel following the fulfilment of their terms of reference at the end of 2010.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Departmental Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which flag or flags are routinely displayed outside each of his Department's overseas (a) posts and (b) residences. [Official Report, 15 December 2011, Vol. 537, c. 3MC.]

Henry Bellingham: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The general rule is that the relevant flag—as follows—should be flown at post on all working days during office hours, depending on which country the posts are located in and the type:
	Diplomatic flag—this is the Union flag with the Royal Arms in the centre surrounded by a green garland.
	Consular flag—this is the Union flag with the St Edward's Crown in the centre on a white disc . It is only flown at consular posts in foreign countries.
	Union flag—this is flown in Commonwealth countries.
	European flag—the display of the European flag is a courtesy rather than a requirement. On Europe day (9 May), posts in EU and EU-applicant countries should display the European flag. Other posts may also display the flag on Europe day where this is normal local practice. UKREP Brussels displays the European flag at all times. All posts may display the flag at other times where this is normal local practice.
	In all cases, the European flag is displayed alongside, not instead of, the British Diplomatic, Consular or in Commonwealth countries the Union flag, with the British flag having precedence.
	Overseas Territories—The personal flag of an Officer Administering the Government (OAG) in an Overseas Territory is the Union flag, superimposed in the centre with the approved arms or badge of the Territory on a white disc surrounded by a green garland. It is flown from sunrise to sunset at Government House when the OAG is in residence. If he/she is not, the flag is flown wherever he/she is in the Territory.
	The Union flag is flown from sunrise to sunset at Government House when the OAG is not in residence. It is also flown there if he/she has placed the residence entirely at the disposal of an important visitor, e.g. a member of the royal family.
	UK national flags—three of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom have their own national flags: the St Andrew's, St David's, and St George's flags. (Northern Ireland is currently without a national flag, pending a new design.) These flags may be flown on the appropriate national day. Posts also have discretion to fly them when special circumstances/events dictate, e.g. the visit of a Minister from a devolved Administration.
	London 2012—The International Olympic Committee and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games gave permission for posts overseas to fly the London 2012 host country flag on key dates in 2012 and for the duration of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has supported. The dates in question are as follows:
	9 January 2012: 200 days to go—Olympics
	11 February 2012: 200 days to go—Paralympics
	18 April 2012: 100 days to go—Olympics
	10 May 2012: Lighting of the Olympic flame
	17 May 2012: Handover of the Olympic flame
	18 May 2012: Arrival in the UK of the Olympic flame
	21 May 2012: 100 days to go—Paralympics
	27 July to 12 August 2012 inclusive: Olympic Games
	29 August to 9 September 2012 inclusive: Paralympic Games.
	Posts are only permitted to fly the 2012 flag on those agreed dates above, but can display it in their reception areas at other times. Again the British Diplomatic, Consular or the Union flag, will take precedence.
	(b) The general rule for flying the relevant flags listed above at Residencies is that they should be flown on the following British anniversaries, during the visit of one of Her Majesty's ships or on days of local celebration or mourning.
	British Anniversaries:
	20 January: birthday of HRH the Countess of Wessex
	6 February: Her Majesty's Accession
	19 February: birthday of HRH the Duke of York
	1 March: St David's day
	10 March: birthday of HRH the Earl of Wessex
	17 March: St Patrick's day
	March (second Monday): Commonwealth day
	21 April: birthday of Her Majesty
	23 April: St George's day
	9 May: Europe day(1)
	2 June: Coronation day
	10 June: birthday of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh
	June (second Saturday): official celebration of Her Majesty's birthday
	17 July: birthday of HRH the Duchess of Cornwall
	15 August: birthday of HRH the Princess Royal
	November (second Sunday):Remembrance day
	14 November: birthday of HRH the Prince of Wales
	20 November: Her Majesty's wedding anniversary
	30 November: St Andrew's day.
	(1) The Union flag should fly alongside the European flag. On Government buildings that only have one flagpole, the Union flag should take precedence.

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of attempts to prevent Bahais in the Iranian city of Sanandaj from attending gatherings; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: We are aware of the deeply concerning reports that Baha'is are being prevented from attending regular planned gatherings and are being threatened. This is a flagrant breach of Iran's commitments under international law to protect freedom of religion, and forms part of a wider pattern of harassment of Baha'is in Iran, including the imprisonment of their leaders. We have regularly raised these issues with the Iranian authorities, for example when the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), met the Iranian chargé d’affaires in August this year. Following the storming of the British embassy in Tehran on 29 November, the UK has downgraded diplomatic relations with Iran. However, we will continue to press the Iranian Government to accord all Iranian citizens the right to freedom of religion. With our EU partners, the UK has taken co-ordinated action to address Iran's human rights record, imposing travel bans and asset freezes on over 60 Iranians responsible for human rights violations, including Government Ministers and members of the judiciary.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to urge the Israeli government to (a) lift the restrictions on aid to Gaza and (b) allow the free entry of medical equipment and drugs.

Henry Bellingham: We are aware that from a list of 460 essential drugs, Gaza's Ministry of Health medical store is currently missing 170 items, including drugs used to strengthen the bones of cancer patients and other types of cancer-related drugs.
	According to an UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs report that was published in August 2011, as of the end of August, approximately one third of the items in the essential drug list and 27% of the medical disposable items were at "zero level" at the Central Drug Store in the Gaza Strip. These shortages directly affect the delivery of health services at facilities run by the Ministry of Health, which provide 40% of primary health care and 80% of hospital care services.
	We continue to work closely with the Quartet and EU partners, and to call on Israel to ease restrictions on access including access to humanitarian and medical supplies. Our ambassador in Tel Aviv raises these concerns regularly with Israeli authorities. It was also formally raised by the UK at the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting of donors in New York on 18 September both in the plenary session and in bilateral meetings with the Israeli delegation in the margins of the main event.

Somalia: International Assistance

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what issues the Government expects to be on the agenda at the international conference on Somalia in 2012; and if he will take steps to ensure that the famine and humanitarian access for international agencies and non-governmental organisations will be included on that agenda.

Henry Bellingham: The London conference on Somalia on 23 February will seek to deliver a new, action-oriented international approach to Somalia to support and build on the progress being made on the ground.
	We want the conference to agree a series of practical measures to support Somalia, including ways to address humanitarian issues.

Somalia: Piracy

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to the economy of piracy off the coast of Somalia.

Henry Bellingham: The turnover of the British shipping industry is worth £10.7 billion of our national GDP; nearly $1 trillion of trade to and from Europe travelled through the Gulf of Aden in 2008 and this is the second busiest international trade route in the world. One World Future has estimated that piracy could be costing the global economy up to $12 billion a year in direct costs and indirect costs such as increased insurance premiums.
	Britain is playing a leading role in the counter-piracy operations at sea, and we are leading international work with regional countries to build penal, judicial and law enforcement capacities in support, with more than 1,000 pirates now in custody. The first line of defence remains self-defence measures by ships to minimise the risk of a successful highjack. But the long-term solution lies on land, with rule of law and increased stability.

West Bank: Trees

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the removal of olive trees in the West Bank; and if he will assess the effects of such removals on the livelihood of Palestinian families.

Henry Bellingham: The UK Government fully appreciate that attacks on olive groves are particularly painful to Palestinians, as the olive tree is both a national symbol and the sole source of income for many subsistence farmers. We have raised our concerns about these various issues with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and with the Israeli Defence Force. Our staff at the British Consulate General in Jerusalem and British embassy in Tel Aviv will continue to raise these issues as appropriate.
	We view any attempts to change the facts on the ground as a serious provocation likely to raise tensions and cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians, as well as being harmful to the peace process and in contravention of international law. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.

JUSTICE

Applied Language Solutions

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2011, Official Report, columns 544-5W, on Applied Language Solutions, 
	(1)  whether the statement in that answer that the assessment of creditors of Applied Language Solutions (ALS) falling due within one year is nil is reconcilable with ALS' 2009-10 accounts, which show creditors with debts falling due within one year as £1.926 million;
	(2)  what the criteria were which his Department used in making its choice of provider; and for what reason Applied Language Solutions was chosen as the provider.

Crispin Blunt: The answer provided previously was in response to a question which the Department considered to relate specifically to mezzanine funding, which is a hybrid of debt and equity funding.
	In more general terms, a financial assessment of Applied Language Solutions considered the company to be financially viable with a profitable position. At the time these issues were considered, it was known that the solution would be a one-stop shop facility that could be delivered by one or more companies. Small and Medium Enterprises, including Applied Language Solutions, with reasonable financial positions and scalable solutions were therefore considered suitable.
	The criteria used to determine the choice of provider were: Service 30%, Innovation 10%, Quality 25%, Assurance of Supply 30% and Sustainability 5%. In financial terms, the Ministry of Justice had determined it would accept the lowest priced, affordable and compliant tender, i.e. there would be a minimum threshold of 80% for the non-price criteria above which the lowest priced tender would be selected. Applied Language Solutions met the criteria and submitted the lowest priced tender.

Civil Disorder

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2011, Official Report, columns 63-4W, on civil disorder, if he will commission research to ascertain the number of compensation orders issued in relation to the persons convicted of offences relating to the public disorder in August 2011.

Crispin Blunt: Information on compensation orders is routinely collected from the courts and published annually in Criminal Justice Statistics.
	There are currently no plans to commission specific research to ascertain the number of compensation orders issued in relation to the persons convicted of offences relating to the riots in August 2011.
	On 24 October 2011 the Ministry of Justice published a statistical bulletin which provided updated information on those brought before the courts for offences relating to the public disorder. Information on numbers brought before the courts, initial outcomes and sentencing was based on data available by midday on 12 October 2011. This report can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/criminal-justice/public-disorder-august-11.htm
	On the same day the Home Office also released an overview of recorded crimes and arrests resulting from the disorder:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/overview-disorder-aug2011/

Harassment

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many complaints about harassment under section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 were dealt with by (a) a caution, (b) a fixed penalty notice and (c) an official warning in each year since 2005.

Crispin Blunt: Data are available on the number of offenders cautioned under section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and section 32 of the Crime Disorder Act 1998 in England and Wales, 2005 to 2010 (latest available). It can be viewed in the following table.
	Under section 32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 a person is guilty of an offence of racially or religiously aggravated harassment if they commit an offence under section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 which is racially or religiously aggravated (as defined in section 28 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998).
	Fixed penalty notices (penalty notices for disorder) are not available for offences committed under section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 or section 32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. A caution is a formal warning for a criminal offence; therefore, we have interpreted the request for information on official warnings to mean cautions.
	Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring 2012.
	
		
			 Offenders cautioned (1,2)  for offences under section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, England & Wales, 2005-10 (3) 
			 Statute 2005 2006 2007 2008 (4) 2009 2010 
			 Protection from Harassment Act 1997, section 2(5) 3,055 3,500 3,560 3,668 3,535 3,277 
			 Crime and Disorder Act 1998, s.32(6) 105 117 90 87 89 18 
			 (1) The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When an offender has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. (2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. (5) Includes: Offence of harassment. (6) Offences under Crime and Disorder Act 1998, s.32: Racially aggravated offence of harassment Religiously aggravated offence of harassment Racially or religiously aggravated offence of harassment Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to answer the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 25 October 2011 with regard to Mr M Aslam.

Kenneth Clarke: I have now replied. I apologise for the delay.

Parole

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many determinate cases were (a) considered and (b) recommended by the Parole Board in each year between 1996-97 and 2010-11;
	(2)  how many prisoners were on parole from determinate sentences in each year between 1996-97 and 2010-11.

Jonathan Djanogly: Table 1 as follows shows the number of determinate cases considered and recommended for release by the Parole Board each year. These figures are published annually in the Parole Board annual report.
	Table 2 below shows the average number of prisoners on parole from determinate sentences each year. These figures are published annually in the Parole Board annual report.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	Following changes in sentencing legislation introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, prisoners serving a determinate sentence for an offence committed after 4 April 2005 are now released automatically at the half-way point of their sentence and their cases no longer go before the Parole Board to decide. The number of determinate cases being referred to the Parole Board by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), has therefore fallen significantly in recent years.
	The cases which continue to be referred to the Parole Board are of prisoners who were sentenced to very lengthy determinate sentences for offences committed before 4 April 2005 and who are therefore likely to have committed more serious offences. They are also likely to have been seen by the Parole Board on at least one previous occasion and turned down for release. The release rate has therefore also fallen in recent years reflecting the increasing seriousness of the cases being considered.
	
		
			 Table 1: Determinate sentence parole reviews and decisions 1996-97 to 2010-11 
			  Cases considered Parole granted Percentage parole granted 
			 1996-97 4,899 1,761 36 
			 1997-98 5,242 2,006 38 
			 1998-99 6,078 2,383 39 
			 1999-2000 6,219 2,561 41 
			 2000-01 5,576 2,584 46 
			 2001-02 5,514 2,791 51 
			 2002-03 6,012 3,175 53 
			 2003-04 6,038 3,206 53 
			 2004-05 7,297 3,794 52 
			 2005-06 7,528 3,718 49 
			 2006-07 6,923 2,478 36 
			 2007-08 6,012 2,157 36 
			 2008-09 2,893 682 24 
			 2009-10 1,656 296 18 
			 2010-11 1,274 244 19 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Average number of prisoners on parole from determinate sentences 1996-97 to 2010-11 
			  Number 
			 1996-97 2,000 
			 1997-98 2,300 
			 1998-99 2,100 
			 1999-2000 2,500 
			 2000-01 2,800 
			 2001-02 3,000 
			 2002-03 3,200 
			 2003-04 3,600 
			 2004-05 4,034 
			 2005-06 4,683 
			 2006-07 4,285 
			 2007-08 3,390 
		
	
	
		
			 2008-09 2,400 
			 2009-10 1,263 
			 2010-11 652 
			 Note: Figures for 1996-97 to 2002-03 are rounded to the nearest 100

Prisoners: Compensation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many claims were made by prisoners for compensation in each of the last five years; what proportion of such claims were unsuccessful; and how many claims were (a) settled out of court and (b) resolved as a consequence of a court judgement.

Crispin Blunt: Prisoners may seek compensation through internal complaints procedures, correspondence, civil litigation and through the parliamentary and prison and probation ombudsman. To provide the information requested would require a trawl through thousands of individual complaint/letters received at each prison site and in MoJ headquarters. This could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign nationals of each country of origin serving custodial sentences have been repatriated since May 2010.

Crispin Blunt: From May 2010 to 8 November 2011 a total of 57 prisoners have been repatriated from England and Wales to their country of origin to continue serving custodial sentences.
	The following table sets out the breakdown of countries where the prisoners transferred.
	
		
			 Country Number of prisoners transferred 
			 Belgium 3 
			 Bermuda 1 
			 Canada 1 
			 Cyprus 1 
			 Czech Republic 5 
			 Ecuador 1 
			 Ghana 1 
			 India 1 
			 Lithuania 1 
			 Netherlands 25 
			 Pakistan 4 
			 Poland 1 
			 Portugal 3 
			 Slovenia 1 
			 Spain 2 
			 Sri Lanka 1 
			 Turkey 5

Prisoners: Repatriation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what category of crimes each foreign national prisoner serving a custodial sentence was convicted in the most recent period for which information is available.

Crispin Blunt: As at 30 September 2011 there were 7,555 foreign national prisoners serving sentences in prison establishments in England and Wales. The following table shows the breakdown by offence group.
	
		
			  Number 
			 Violence against the person 1,769 
			 Sexual offences 1,015 
			 Robbery 708 
			 Burglary 315 
			 Theft and handling 538 
			 Fraud and forgery 432 
			 Drug offences 1,748 
			 Motoring offences 105 
			 Other offences 878 
			 Offence not recorded 47 
			 Total 7,555 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons: Manpower

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the staffing level in each prison in England and Wales was in October (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011.

Crispin Blunt: Information on the number of directly employed staff at each Prison Service establishment in England and Wales on 31 October 2009, 2010 and 2011 is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Full-time equivalent staff in post—31 October 2009, 2010 and 2011 
			  Total staff in post (full-time equivalent) 
			 Public sector establishments 31 October 2009 31 October 2010 31 October 2011 
			 Acklington 450 445 731 
			 Ashwell 283 204 — 
			 Askham Grange 76 62 56 
			 Aylesbury 297 264 266 
			 Bedford 261 244 242 
			 Belmarsh 909 869 837 
			 Birmingham 757 717 11 
			 Blantyre House 63 66 59 
			 Blundeston 295 269 258 
			 Brinsford 386 368 365 
			 Bristol 336 336 324 
			 Brixton 347 328 315 
			 Buckley Hall 206 207 196 
			 Bullingdon 473 455 436 
			 Bullwood Hall 155 139 129 
			 Bure 201 288 279 
			 Canterbury 182 177 175 
			 Cardiff 396 422 416 
			 Castington 370 330 — 
			 Channings Wood 341 342 332 
			 Chelmsford 392 374 364 
			 Coldingley 265 257 246 
			 Cookham Wood 221 212 222 
			 Dartmoor 313 303 281 
			 Deerbolt 343 325 319 
			 Dorchester 187 168 170 
		
	
	
		
			 Dover 244 238 250 
			 Downview 215 206 192 
			 Drake Hall 176 174 166 
			 Durham 563 528 487 
			 East Sutton Park 59 59 59 
			 Eastwood Park 290 249 243 
			 Edmunds Hill 229 199 — 
			 Elmley 357 381 426 
			 Erlestoke 250 227 — 
			 Erlestoke and Shepton Mallet — — 359 
			 Everthorpe 299 285 267 
			 Exeter 292 286 275 
			 Featherstone 352 346 324 
			 Feltham 725 686 660 
			 Ford 162 154 152 
			 Foston Hall 291 256 181 
			 Frankland 978 932 906 
			 Full Sutton 753 720 707 
			 Garth 493 488 465 
			 Gartree 443 399 374 
			 Glen Parva 457 443 403 
			 Gloucester 207 198 199 
			 Grendon 313 287 278 
			 Guys Marsh 281 280 269 
			 Haslar 99 95 94 
			 Haverigg 316 302 293 
			 Hewell 639 609 601 
			 High Down 513 474 457 
			 Highpoint 447 411 577 
			 Hindley 430 401 403 
			 Hollesley Bay 147 138 127 
			 Holloway 489 443 380 
			 Holme House 486 535 533 
			 Hull 502 483 470 
			 Huntercombe 281 242 214 
			 Isis 33 242 254 
			 Isle of Wight 876 840 810 
			 Kennet 283 263 253 
			 Kingston 129 126 118 
			 Kirkham 230 219 219 
			 Kirklevington Grange 131 125 126 
			 Lancaster 165 164 17 
			 Lancaster Farms 386 353 369 
			 Latchmere House 81 77 70 
			 Leeds 575 571 545 
			 Leicester 233 206 201 
			 Lewes 348 335 329 
			 Leyhill 202 191 196 
			 Lincoln 377 340 316 
			 Lindholme 493 469 443 
			 Littlehey 342 530 516 
			 Liverpool 620 589 574 
			 Long Lartin 692 665 660 
			 Low Newton 273 277 266 
			 Maidstone 293 269 261 
			 Manchester 854 849 809 
			 Moorland 495 480 483 
		
	
	
		
			 Morton Hall 210 182 207 
			 New Hall 377 362 338 
			 North Sea Camp 140 119 118 
			 Northallerton 135 128 129 
			 Norwich 380 358 352 
			 Nottingham 397 531 515 
			 Onley 401 355 327 
			 Pentonville 600 560 542 
			 Portland 373 356 331 
			 Preston 449 423 417 
			 Ranby 532 464 442 
			 Reading 186 181 175 
			 Risley 478 476 455 
			 Rochester 460 400 392 
			 Send 177 180 176 
			 Sheppey Clustered Services 127 106 273 
			 Sheppey Reducing Re-Offending 243 305 — 
			 Shepton Mallet 134 133 — 
			 Shrewsbury 211 201 208 
			 Stafford 379 371 351 
			 Standford Hill 90 91 114 
			 Stocken 379 348 345 
			 Stoke Heath 435 419 401 
			 Styal 331 310 289 
			 Sudbury 196 165 158 
			 Swaleside 374 353 406 
			 Swansea 224 226 241 
			 Swinfen Hall 373 359 356 
			 The Mount 336 313 304 
			 The Verne 268 254 247 
			 Thorn Cross 191 177 172 
			 Usk/Prescoed 166 172 167 
			 Wakefield 730 705 662 
			 Wandsworth 712 679 651 
			 Warren Hill 231 220 228 
			 Wayland 405 387 386 
			 Wealstun 333 391 399 
			 Wellingborough 319 249 248 
			 Wellington 170 176 173 
			 Wetherby 357 388 413 
			 Whatton 461 396 372 
			 Whitemoor 744 716 691 
			 Winchester 348 327 301 
			 Woodhill 744 727 703 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 559 541 540 
			 Wymott 524 507 499 
		
	
	
		
			  Total staff in post (full-time equivalent) 
			 Private sector establishments 31 October 2009 31 October 2010 31 October 2011 
			 Altcourse 599 585 546 
			 Ashfield 442 439 458 
			 Birmingham — — 596 
			 Bronzefield 373 360 329 
			 Doncaster 568 534 468 
		
	
	
		
			 Dovegate 523 549 552 
			 Forest Bank 526 531 514 
			 Lowdham Grange 396 451 476 
			 Parc 628 706 668 
			 Peterborough 522 513 515 
			 Rye Hill 256 246 243 
			 Wolds 189 182 161 
			 Notes: 1. Information relates to all Prison Service establishments, including young offenders institutions and immigration removal centres. 2. Acklington and Castington; Edmunds Hill and Highpoint and Shepton Mallett and Erlestoke are reported as a single sites in October 2011. 3. Ashwell and Lancaster closed in March 2011, a few staff remain in post at Lancaster. 4. Birmingham transferred to management of G4S in October 2011.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Civil Disorder

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department expects to meet all the unplanned spending involved in policing recent incidents of public disorder, including the costs of (a) police overtime, (b) cancelling police leave and (c) drafting in officers from other forces; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 8 September 2011
	There is an established system of special grants in place to support forces where they face unexpected or exceptional costs.

Civil Disorder

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effect public disorder in August 2011 in England and Wales will have on police funding.

Nick Herbert: There is already an established system of special grants in place to support forces where they face unexpected or exceptional costs. It is up to individual forces if they wish to apply for a special grant and all applications will be considered. Discussions between Home Office officials and police authorities have been ongoing and applications will be reviewed as quickly as possible.

EU Law

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in respect of which EU measures the Government is able to notify the Council that it does not accept the powers of the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union, under Article 10(4) of Protocol (No 36) on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU Treaties; and what EU proposals or adopted measures would amend or repeal any such measures.

James Brokenshire: The provisions of Article 10(1) and the notification under Article 10(4) of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions apply to acts of the Union in the field of police co-operation and judicial co-operation in criminal matters which have been adopted before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009 where those acts have not subsequently been repealed, annulled or amended.
	Officials are currently finalising the list of measures which the Government anticipates will fall within the scope of this notification and this will be available to Parliament shortly. At the same time we will also provide Parliament with the latest list of EU proposals and adopted measures which will repeal and replace or amend measures which fall within the scope of the Article 10(4) notification.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent staff the Independent Police Complaints Commission expects to employ in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13;
	(2)  how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission as (a) investigators, (b) deputy senior investigators and (c) senior investigators in each financial year since 2004-05;
	(3)  how many full-time equivalent staff were employed in the Strategy and Communications Directorate of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in each financial year since 2004-05.

Nick Herbert: The Home Office does not hold this information. These are matters for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). The IPCC has written to the right hon. Member about the information sought. A copy has been placed in the House Library.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many (a) independent investigations, (b) managed investigations and (c) supervised investigations involving the Independent Police Complaints Commission there were in each financial year since 2004-05;
	(2)  how many full-time equivalent staff are expected to be employed in the Strategy and Communications Directorate of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in the financial year 2012-13;
	(3)  how many investigations were carried out by the Independent Police Complaints Commission following a death or serious injury during or following police contact in each of the last seven financial years;
	(4)  how many cases of death or serious injury during or after police contact were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in each financial year since 2004-05;
	(5)  how many police officers were suspended pending an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission into a death or serious injury during or after police contact in each financial year since 2004-05;
	(6)  how many (a) senior investigators, (b) deputy senior investigators and (c) investigators in the Independent Police Complaints Commission are former members of the police;
	(7)  what proportion of (a) senior investigators, (b) deputy senior investigators and (c) investigators in the Independent Police Complaints Commission are from (i) Black or Black British and (ii) Asian or Asian British background;
	(8)  what steps her Department has taken to increase the number of black and ethnic minority members of the Investigations Directorate of the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Nick Herbert: The Home Office does not hold this information. These are matters for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). The IPCC has written to the right hon. Member about the information sought. A copy has been placed in the House Library.

Knives: Crime

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with which organisations the Government is working to reduce the level of knife crime.

James Brokenshire: The Government works with a range of organisations to reduce knife crime including youth and community sector organisations, the Association of Chief Police Officers, and local statutory community safety partners.
	Following the publication of the Brooke Kinsella's report, “Tackling Knife Crime Together—a Review of Local Anti-Knife Crime Projects”, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), announced a package of funding. This includes:
	£3.75 million for three police forces—London, West Midlands and Greater Manchester—for the next two years under the Communities Against Guns, Gangs and Knives (CAGGK) Programme;
	£4 million for the voluntary and community sector over the next two years under the CAGGK Fund—£2 million will be available during 2011-12 and a further £2 million during 2012-13. Each successful organisation will receive up to £10,000 each per year to prevent the involvement of teenagers in gun, gang and knife crime.
	The list of organisations supported by the CAGGK Fund can be found using the following link:
	http://grantsadmin.co.uk/funding/
	£250,000 for one further year of the Ben Kinsella Fund to help young people run anti-knife crime projects in their local area.

Members: Correspondence

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister of State for Policing and Crime plans to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed of 5 April 2011 on police pensions.

Nick Herbert: A reply was sent on 14 July 2011.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when she plans to reply the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 22 August 2011 regarding Mr J Whelan;
	(2)  when she plans to answer the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 22 August 2011 with regard to Mr J. Whelan.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 8 November 2011
	A reply was sent on 20 November.

Metal Theft

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward proposals to make it a criminal offence to sell metals (a) without photographic identification and (b) using cash payments; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Discussions are under way across Government on whether legislative changes are needed to tackle metal theft.

Police: Complaints

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many complaints from a member of the public to the Metropolitan Police Professional Standards Division were upheld in each year since its inception;
	(2)  whether any complaints of (a) corruption and (b) misconduct have been received by the Metropolitan Police from (i) members of the public, (ii) serving police officers and (iii) former police officers in each of the last five years.

Nick Herbert: The Home Office does not hold this information. This is a matter for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). The IPCC has written to the hon. Member about the information sought. A copy has been placed in the House Library.

Police: Manpower

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has had any discussions with the (a) Association of Chief Police Officers and (b) Police Superintendents' Association on the effects of reductions in the number of senior officers on their capacity to fulfil statutory duties; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 18 July 2011
	Ministers have regular discussions with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Police Superintendents' Association on a range of issues about policing.

Police: Misconduct

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers employed by the Metropolitan Police Service have been dismissed for allegations of (a) corruption and (b) misconduct in each of the last five years.

Nick Herbert: This information is not held centrally. This is a matter for the Metropolitan Police Service and its Police Authority.

Metal Theft

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  with reference to paragraph A.48, page 57 of the Autumn Statement, where she expects to allocate the funding to tackle metal theft;
	(2)  with reference to paragraph A.48, page 57 of the Autumn Statement, how many additional people she expects to be employed to tackle metal theft.

James Brokenshire: The details of the national metal theft taskforce are currently being developed, in liaison with the British Transport police who will be leading this work, and will be announced shortly.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Capita

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many contracts his Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each contract.

Gregory Barker: One new contract has been awarded by DECC to Capita since 2010:
	(a) This was for a facilities management review.
	(b) The monetary value of the contract was £15,000.
	(c) The net worth of the contract was £22,000.

Carbon Sequestration: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the Autumn Statement has any implications in relation to the availability of the £1 billion earmarked by his Department to support the development of a carbon capture and storage project.

Charles Hendry: No. £1 billion remains available to support CCS projects.

Carbon Sequestration: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what timetable he has set for the competition to provide support for the development of a carbon capture and storage project.

Charles Hendry: We will launch a streamlined selection process for future CCS projects as soon as possible in the new year.

Carbon Sequestration: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the carbon capture and storage industry in relation to the Autumn Statement.

Charles Hendry: DECC Ministers and officials hold frequent discussions on CCS with industry stakeholders covering a wide range of issues, including on the autumn statement.

Carbon Sequestration: Finance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in which financial year funds will be made available to support the development of a carbon capture and storage project.

Charles Hendry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Angus (Mr Weir), on 6 December 2011, Official Report, column 212W.

Departmental Publications

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) leaflets, (b) posters and (c) reports his Department has published since May 2010; how much each cost; and which company (i) published and (ii) designed each.

Gregory Barker: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) Leaflets
	Cost: £1,869.
	Designers and printers: Central Office of Information (COI), Charing Cross Print and Foyer Graphics.
	(b) Posters
	Our posters are produced in-house.
	(c) Reports
	Total cost (design and print): £231,934.62.
	Designers and printers: COI, The Stationary Office (TSO), Foyer Graphics, Domarn, EC Group, Rye Design, Communisis, Wordlink.
	In regard to reports, we have included all documents that have been published by DECC using an external agency for print and or design.
	The Department has also published a number of other documents that were produced in-house and did not incur publication or design costs. These have not therefore been included in the answer.

Energy Supply: Accidents

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information his Department holds on the number of serious accidents and fatalities reported by the (a) coal mining, (b) offshore oil and gas exploration and production, (c) oil and gas refining, (d) thermal power generation and (e) onshore and offshore wind electricity generation sector in each of the last three years.

Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of serious accidents and fatalities reported by the sectors of (a) coal mining, (b) offshore oil and gas exploration and production, and (c) oil and gas refining were:
	
		
			 Industry (‘ Standard Industrial Classification 200 7’ ) Employment status Severity 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (3) 
			 05—Mining of coal and lignite Worker Fatal 1 3 1 
			  Worker Major 43 44 32 
			  Member of public Non-fatal 4 0 0 
			       
			 06—Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas Worker Fatal 0 0 0 
			  Worker(2) Major 43 52 42 
			       
			 09—Mining—support service activities(1) Worker Fatal 0 1 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Worker(2) Major 18 14 6 
			       
			 19.2—Manufacture of refined petroleum products Worker Fatal 1 0 0 
			  Worker Major 9 7 13 
			  Member of public Non-fatal 0 0 1 
			 (1) SIC 09—Mining support service activities covers petroleum and natural gas (including exploration but not extraction); other mining and quarrying. (2) Fatal injuries are offshore only. Non-fatal major injuries in the oil and gas extraction and related activities cover onshore and offshore, as the data is stored such that it cannot be easily disaggregated between either type of workplace. At an aggregate level about 90% of reported major injuries occur offshore. (3) Provisional. 
		
	
	(d) Data are not available in the form requested for accidents in the thermal power generation sector. Accident data are classified using Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) coding for the relevant industry sector, but this does not separately identify thermal power generation. Such incidents are amalgamated with electricity production more generally.
	(e) Data are not available in the form requested for accidents in the wind electricity generation sector, where incidents are also amalgamated with electricity production more generally.

Energy: Meters

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with stakeholders on the roll-out of smart meters in rural areas.

Charles Hendry: The Government will place regulatory obligations on energy suppliers that will require them to take all reasonable steps to install smart meters for all their domestic and smaller non-domestic customers by the completion date in 2019. This obligation will apply equally to customers in rural areas as to others.
	This policy has been informed by extensive consultation with stakeholders, both formal and informal. For example, we received 279 responses to our 2010 Smart Metering Prospectus consultation, including representatives of consumer interests such as Age UK, Consumer Focus, Citizen's Advice, the Federation of Small Businesses, and Which? Consumer groups continue to actively engage in the Smart Meter Programme through membership of a range of working groups, including a dedicated Consumer Advisory Group.

Energy: Meters

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has for the roll-out of smart meters in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The Government will place regulatory obligations on energy suppliers that will require them to take all reasonable steps to install smart meters for all their domestic and smaller non-domestic customers by the completion date in 2019. This obligation will apply equally to customers in rural areas as to others.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2011, Official Report, column 589W, on renewable energy: feed-in tariffs, what estimate he has made of the number of community projects on hold pending the publication of the second consultation on feed-in tariffs.

Gregory Barker: The Department have made no such assessment.
	The second consultation on the comprehensive review of the feed-in tariffs scheme will seek views on a proposed definition of “community-owned” installations. This consultation will be published around the end of the year.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department last met representatives of the voluntary and community sector to discuss proposed changes to feed-in tariffs.

Gregory Barker: Ministers and officials meet on a regular basis and also maintain dialogue with representatives from various voluntary and community sector organisations on the feed-in tariffs scheme.
	Details of meetings between DECC Ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on the DECC website.

Scottish Government

Jim McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how many times he has met Scottish Government Ministers since May 2010; what the (a) date and (b) location was of each such meeting; and what the issues were which were discussed at each such meeting;
	(2)  how many times he has met the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Investment since May 2010; what the (a) date and (b) location was of each such meeting; and what issues were discussed at each such meeting.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), maintains close links with Ministers in the devolved Administrations and has regular discussions with them on a range of energy and climate related issues.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on what basis his Department proposes to introduce new multi-installation tariff rates for aggregated solar PV schemes with an eligibility date on or after 1 April 2012 and new generation tariffs for solar PV for all new solar PV installations with an eligibility date on or after 12 December.

Gregory Barker: The proposed new tariffs have been set in the light of evidence of the falling costs of PV and are intended to provide a 5% rate of return for well located installations. This was the target return for PV under FITs when the scheme started. The one exception is the tariff for PV installations with a total installed capacity of 4kW or less, the size of installation that is most commonly used for domestic PV installations. The proposed tariff for this band is intended to deliver a 4.5% rather than 5% rate of return for a well located domestic PV installation. Based on analysis undertaken through the comprehensive review, we consider that a lower target return than 5% is more appropriate for domestic PV given how the investment climate has changed since the FITs scheme was first introduced.
	The multi-installation tariff rates are based on evidence from the comprehensive review which suggested that the economies of scale associated with aggregated projects mean that a lower tariff is necessary to deliver the target rate of return of 5%. We have considered this evidence along with the possible impact of the proposed new requirements on energy efficiency on aggregated projects. On this basis, we consider that a multi-installation rate which is set at 80% of the proposed standard tariffs for individual installations, is justified (where that would result in a tariff that is no lower than the marginal cost of renewables).

Stephen Crouch

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what meetings (a) he, (b) his Ministers and (c) senior officials of his Department have had with Stephen Crouch since May 2010.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 5 December 2011
	All ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis and can be found on the Department's website. There are no records of any such meeting with senior officials.

Wind Power: Costs

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of wind power costs in 10 years time per kilowatt hour.

Charles Hendry: The updated report by Arup consultants which DECC published alongside the renewables obligation banding review consultation(1) contained levelised costs of electricity. The following table shows the current and projected levelised costs for onshore wind and offshore wind, including in 2020.
	(1) Arup (2011), ‘Review of the generation costs and deployment potential of renewable electricity technologies in the UK’, available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/cons_ro_review/cons_ro_review.aspx
	
		
			 Levelised costs of wind technologies, 
			 £/MWh 
			   Financial close: 
			   2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 
			 Onshore >5MW Low 75 72 71 69 68 
			  Medium 91 88 86 84 82 
			  High 108 105 103 101 99 
			        
			 Onshore <5MW Low 82 80 78 76 75 
		
	
	
		
			  Medium 104 102 99 98 96 
			  High 127 125 122 120 118 
			        
			 Offshore round 2 Low 149 123 95 87 81 
			  Medium 169 139 107 98 91 
			  High 191 158 121 111 104 
			        
			 Offshore round 3 Low n/a 168 127 113 92 
			  Medium n/a 192 145 129 105 
			  High n/a 225 170 151 122 
			 Source: Arup (2011)

World War II: Medals

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) Bevin Boys and (b) Air Transport Auxiliary Veterans Badges were awarded in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008, (iii) 2009, (iv) 2010 and (v) 2011 to date.

Charles Hendry: In relation to the Bevin Boys Veterans Badge, which is the responsibility of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the first badge was awarded on 20 March 2008 and the number of badges issued since is broken down as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2008 (from 20 March 2008) 4,722 
			 2009 70 
			 2010 77 
			 2011 (to 5 December 2011) 50 
		
	
	With regard to the Air Transport Auxiliary Veterans Badge, which is the responsibility of the Department for Transport, this was launched in September 2008 with initial awards to 149 veterans. A further 30 badges have since been awarded. No information is held on the number of badges awarded annually.

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether any senior staff in (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies are paid by means of payments to a limited company in lieu of a salary; and if he will publish his policy on such payments.

Francis Maude: Staff in the Cabinet Office employed by private sector or third sector organisations, for example on secondment, generally remain on the payroll of their organisation, where the Cabinet Office reimburses the organisation in line with civil service rates of pay appropriate to the role.
	The Cabinet Office has one senior member of staff employed by McKinsey and Company, Mr Tim Kelsey, who leads on the Transparency agenda, and one senior member of staff employed by Institute for Government (a company limited by guarantee), Mr David Halpern, who leads the Behavioural Insight Team, and the Cabinet Office reimburses those organisations at rates equivalent to that of a Director.
	This is part of the Cabinet Office's strategy to bring in expertise and specialist skills on a temporary basis from commercial, third sector and wider public sector organisations in line with Government policy on Senior Civil Service rates of pay.
	No senior staff in the Cabinet Office's executive agencies and non-departmental bodies-are paid by means of payment to a limited company in lieu of salary.

Parliamentary Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

Francis Maude: The information is not held in the format requested.
	Between 1 June and 30 November 2011, the Cabinet Office was tabled 193 questions for answer on a named day, 144 of which were answered substantively on the date specified.

Government Procurement

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which sectors will be included in the medium-term review of procurement scheduled for April 2012.

Francis Maude: The Government have already published procurement plans for construction, wider infrastructure, ICT and facilities management. The Government have announced that they will publish medium-term plans setting out their procurement needs in other sectors by April 2012.

Public Sector: Pensions

Julian Huppert: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his policy is on the acceptance by the Government of the binding nature of arbitration between public sector workers and the Government.

Francis Maude: holding answer 5 December 2011
	As I set out to the House on 30 November 2011, Official Report, columns 941-58, sector specific talks are ongoing between individual pensions schemes and the unions, following the proposals set out by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), on 2 November 2011, Official Report, columns 927-29.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Festivals and Special Occasions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he took part in any events in an official capacity to mark (a) St George's day, (b) St Patrick's day, (c) St David's day and (d) St Andrew's day in 2011.

Nicholas Clegg: The Government and their bodies support a number of events to signify the importance of these dates, including flying their flags on a number of Government buildings.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Business: Training

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to prioritise small employers in the proposed dispersal of funds for training under the employer choice pilot.

John Hayes: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The Employer Ownership Pilot will be open to employers irrespective of size. We want to encourage small employers to participate by coming forward with proposals for the employer ownership pilot, for example by working in partnership, or through a supply chain. More details will be available in the new year.

Capabilities Programme

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many full-time equivalent staff work on the telecommunications and postal services workstream of the Capabilities programme; and what the staffing level was in each of the last 10 quarters.

Edward Davey: There are no individual staff who work full-time working on the Capabilities programme. Approximately two full-time equivalent officials in BIS contribute to the telecommunications and postal services elements of the Capabilities programme. Resources have remained broadly stable over the past 10 quarters.

Capabilities Programme

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who the lead Minister in his Department is for the telecommunications and postal services workstream of the Capabilities programme.

Edward Davey: The hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr Prisk) is the Minister responsible for the Capabilities programme as this falls within the telecommunications and postal services workstream.

Capabilities Programme

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the budget was for the telecommunications and postal services workstream of the Capabilities programme in each year since 2005; and what the budget will be during the comprehensive spending review period.

Edward Davey: The Department does not have a budget for the Capabilities programme. Industry is responsible for improvement in its own resilience.

Money Lenders

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints of harassment by money lenders have been received by (a) the Office of Fair Trading and (b) trading standards in each of the last five years.

Edward Davey: The Office of Fair Trading maintains a database, on behalf of Trading Standards, of contacts made to the Consumer Direct advice service. Although this includes data on complaints about financial services and consumer credit activities, information about whether or not these complaints involve allegations of harassment is recorded in a number of different ways and it is not possible to extract statistics on the category of complaints described.

Students: Loans

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what monitoring system his Department has in place to track the proportion of student loan funding that is awarded to students studying at (a) private and (b) for-profit higher education institutions.

David Willetts: holding answer 6 December 2011
	Information on the amount of student loan funding that is awarded to students studying on specifically designated courses at private providers is held by the Student Loans Company (SLC).
	The Department receives quarterly updates from the SLC reporting the amount awarded to students on these courses.
	Under the service level agreement between the Department and the SLC, the Department can make further requests for this information.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding over £100,000 his Department's Knowledge and Innovation Directorate allocated to (a) voluntary sector, (b) charities and (c) other third sector organisations in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: holding answer 25 November 2011
	The Knowledge and Innovation Group was formed at the end of 2010 after allocations for 2010-11 had been made. Most of the group's total budget reaches charities which are higher education institutions or students who attend them. We generally allocate funding to partner organisations which take independent decisions on funding for individual bodies. The following table sets out the available information requested for bodies which are directly funded by the group rather than those whose funding depends on the decisions of independent partner organisations.
	
		
			 Direct grant support over £100,000 
			 2011/12 £000 
			 Total national academies 87,465 
			 Royal Society 47,830 
			 British Academy 27,001 
			 Royal Academy of Engineering 12,634 
			   
			 Other support for science  
			 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network (STEMNET) 6,300 
			 British Science Association 1,530 
			 Engineering UK/Big Bang Education CIC (The Big Bang Fair) 350 
			 UK Resource Centre for Women in SET (UKRC) 500 
			  8,680 
			   
			 Other  
			 Design Council 5,312 
			 Natural England 365 
			 UK Council for International Students 300 
			 Tate Britain 291 
			 The British Council 285 
			 European University Institute 229 
			 College of Europe 213 
			 Royal Anniversary Trust 167 
			 Raleigh International Trust 167 
			 Association of Commonwealth Universities 117 
			 National Foundation for Education 115 
			 Royal Botanic Kew Gardens 111 
			  7,555

HEALTH

Winter Deaths

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what additional resources he plans to allocate to the NHS to prevent excess deaths in winter 2011-12.

Anne Milton: The Department launched the first national Cold Weather Plan for England on 1 November 2011. This provides strategic guidance and a framework which national health service trusts can incorporate into their existing local winter planning arrangements. It emphasises good practice which will limit the impact of cold weather on health.
	The Department is centrally funding the Met Office for £40,000 to run a Cold Weather Alert system across England from 1 November 2011 to 31 March 2012 in support of the Cold Weather Plan.
	To support the aims of the Cold Weather Plan, the Department has established the ‘Warm Homes, Healthy People' fund—up to £20 million for winter 2011-12. This is a major new initiative to support local authorities and their partners (including NHS trusts) in reducing deaths and poor health due to cold housing.
	The Department will also be providing financial support to the Department of Energy and Climate Change of up to £10 million. This will be used to support Warm Front to help even more households that are vulnerable to fuel poverty in 2011-12.

Winter Deaths

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to prevent excess deaths in the winter of 2011-12.

Anne Milton: The Department launched the first national Cold Weather Plan on 1 November 2011. The plan sets out what needs to happen before and during periods of severe winter weather in England, and builds on established national and local campaigns for winter health with a more co-ordinated approach. The plan will work through a system of Cold Weather Alerts, linked to the existing winter weather warning system developed by the Met Office, in operation from 1 November to 31 March.
	To support the aims of the Cold Weather Plan, the Department has established the ‘Warm Homes, Healthy People’ fund—up to £20 million for winter 2011-12. This is a major new initiative to support local authorities and their partners in reducing deaths and poor health due to cold housing.
	The Department will also be providing financial support to the Department of Energy and Climate Change of up to £10 million. This will be used to support Warm Front to help even more households that are vulnerable to fuel poverty in 2011-12.

Dental Services: EU Nationals

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to provide citizens of other EU countries resident in the UK with dental treatment.

Simon Burns: All residents of the United Kingdom, including those from another European Union country, are entitled to receive national health service dental treatment in the normal manner. Citizens of other EU countries who are not resident are entitled to the same NHS dental services as citizens ordinarily resident in the UK, and subject to the same charge regime and recognised exemptions, but they must demonstrate their entitlement by possession of a valid European Health Insurance Card.

Departmental ICT

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of progress with his Department's information technology programme; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: It is presumed that the hon. Member is referring to the National Programme for Information Technology (IT).
	In September 2011, we announced, an acceleration of the dismantling of the National Programme for IT. This followed a review by the Cabinet Office's Major Projects Authority that concluded that the programme is not fit to provide the modern information technology services required by the national health service.
	Although the National Programme for IT has successfully delivered a number of national applications and services on which the NHS now relies including, choose and book, the Spine, N3 network, NHSmail, Secondary Uses Service and the Picture Archiving and Communications Service, IT support for the NHS needs to change to meet the requirements of a modernised health care system which aims to restore local control over decision making and greater choice for patients and clinicians over the provision of care.
	The weaknesses of a top-down, centrally imposed approach to IT that fails to engage sufficiently with the NHS and is not responsive to local needs are well recognized and we are presently undertaking a comprehensive review of the Department's informatics applications and services portfolio for the NHS. In doing so, we will be taking full account of the recommendations of the recent Public Accounts Committee Report on the National Programme for IT and the advice of the Major Projects Authority.

Hospital Wards: Gender

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information NHS trusts are required to collect to monitor (a) use of mixed-sex accommodation and (b) standards of privacy and dignity provided for patients.

Simon Burns: We are determined to end mixed-sex accommodation (MSA), except where it is clearly in the best interest of the patient. The following information is collected nationally:
	(a) National health service trusts submit the number of breaches of MSA sleeping guidance that occur each month. The providers submit these data split by the relevant commissioning primary care trust(s).
	We calculate the MSA breach rate as the number of breaches of MSA sleeping guidance per 1,000 finished consultant episodes (FCEs). The source of FCE data is Inpatient Hospital Episode Statistics.
	Organisations also collect (but do not report centrally) all mixed-sex sharing of bathroom/toilet facilities and all mixed provision of day space in mental health units at a local level.
	(b) Performance on privacy and dignity is measured via the Care Quality Commission's National Inpatient Survey and by Patient Environment Action Team inspections. These collections are not mandatory, but compliance is very high.
	More generally, the NHS Operating Framework 2012-13 requires NHS organisations to
	“actively seek out, respond positively, and improve services in line with patient feedback. This includes acting on complaints, patient comments, local and national surveys and results from ‘real time' data techniques”.

NHS: Official Visits

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS organisations he has visited in each month since September 2011.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS organisations he has visited in the last three months.

Simon Burns: During the period 1 September to 30 November, the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), has undertaken a range of visits. Those to national health service organisations are as follows:
	
		
			 Date NHS organisation 
			 10 October 2011 North Middlesex Hospital(1) 
			 27 October 2011 Glenfield Hospital(1) 
			 27 October 2011 Leicester Royal Infirmary(1) 
			 3 November 2011 Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust(1) 
			 3 November 2011 James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust(1) 
			 3 November 2011 Cutlers Hill Surgery(2) 
			 (1) Hospital. (2) General practitioner surgery.

NHS Direct

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls NHS Direct has received in each week since 1 April 2011; and how long on average it took for such calls to be answered in each such week.

Simon Burns: The following table sets out how many calls NHS Direct has received in each week since 1 April 2011, and the number and percentage of those calls answered within their Key Performance Indicator target of 60 seconds.
	
		
			 Week commencing: Number of calls  o ffered Number of calls  a nswered Number of calls answered in 60 seconds Percentage of calls answered in 60 seconds 
			 28 March 2011 38,249 37,418 35,561 95.0 
			 4 April 2011 82,889 81,997 80,531 98.2 
			 11 April 2011 80,035 79,087 77,445 97.9 
			 18 April 2011 94,562 89,062 76,816 86.3 
			 25 April 2011 97,019 91,842 78,545 85.5 
			 2 May 2011 86,878 85,258 80,745 94.7 
			 9 May 2011 81,003 79,014 74,533 94.3 
			 16 May 2011 81,872 79,760 74,589 93.5 
			 23 May 2011 84,316 80,778 71,396 88.4 
			 30 May 2011 89,181 82,882 64,105 77.3 
			 6 June 2011, 83,307 79,998 71,203 89.0 
			 13 June 2011 78,785 75,193 65,505 87.1 
			 20 June 2011 78,454 71,995 55,535 77.1 
			 27 June 2011 81,383 76,157 61,122 80.3 
			 4 July 2011 80,927 76,272 64,624 84.7 
		
	
	
		
			 11 July 2011 78,562 75,430 67,235 89.1 
			 18 July 2011 77,012 74,150 66,673 89.9 
			 25 July 2011 75,968 71,624 61,802 86.3 
			 1 August 2011 76,266 69,759 53,139 76.2 
			 8 August 2011 72,716 69,340 60,161 86.8 
			 15August2011 73,276 71,676 67,976 94.8 
			 22 August 2011 73,052 72,142 70,122 97.2 
			 29 August 2011 74,807 73,886 72,214 97.7 
			 5 September 2011 68,821 67,634 65,435 96.7 
			 12 September 2011 68,082 67,024 64,937 96.9 
			 19 September 2011 66,348 64,637 60,843 94.1 
			 26 September 2011 64,131 62,821 60,216 95.9 
			 3 October 2011 71,770 70,745 68,993 97.5 
			 10 October 2011 72,709 71,608 69,501 97.1 
			 17 October 2011 72,301 71,146 68,894 96.8 
			 24 October 2011 62,613 60,523 55,812 92.2 
			 31 October 2011 69,699 68,558 65,970 96.2 
			 7 November 2011 71,701 70,807 69,228 97.8 
			 14 November 2011 69,950 69,056 67,486 97.7 
			 21 November 2011 72,820 70,242 64,686 92.1 
			 28 November 2011 28,034 27,653 26,841 97.1 
		
	
	
		
			 Month Number of calls offered Number of calls answered Number of calls answered in 60 seconds Percentage of calls answered in 60 seconds 
			 April 2011 376,754 363,976 335,460 92.2 
			 May 2011 377,906 366,757 337,579 92.0 
			 June 2011 345,278 324,750 268,622 82.7 
			 July 2011 350,464 332,434 286,304 86.1 
			 August 2011 327,935 315,249 283,245 89.8 
			 September 2011 289,680 284,361 273,697 96.2 
			 October 2011 308,912 302,826 290,397 95.9 
			 November 2011 302,569 296,821 285,115 96.1 
			      
			 Year to date 2,679,498 2,587,174 2,360,419 91.2 
			 Source: NHS Direct Symposium

NHS: Drugs

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Guidance approval of the Velcade Response Scheme in October 2007, how many schemes involving the manufacturers of pharmaceuticals paying back money to the NHS were approved by NICE between January 2008 and May 2010; and how much such schemes have been approved since May 2010.

Simon Burns: The Velcade (bortezomib) response scheme is an outcome-based patient access scheme involving possible repayments from the manufacturer to national health service organisations linked to patient response which is monitored as part of the scheme. To date, the Velcade response scheme is the only patient access scheme of this type which has been incorporated in technology appraisal guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
	Patient access schemes proposed by manufacturers in the context of NICE technology appraisals may take a variety of forms, some of which include options for the NHS to receive a cash rebate, free stock or credit linked to the purchase of a drug. A full list of drugs recommended by NICE in association with patient access schemes is available on the Institute's website at:
	www.nice.org.uk/aboutnice/howwework/paslu/ListOfPatientAccessSchemesApprovedAsPartOfANICE Appraisal.jsp

NHS: Drugs

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the manufacturers of Velcade have paid back to the NHS under the Velcade Response Scheme in each year since the scheme was approved.

Simon Burns: Implementation and operation of Patient Access schemes, of which the Velcade scheme is one, is a matter for the pharmaceutical manufacturer and the national health service.
	The Department does not collect national data on such schemes.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of NHS capital expenditure in each of the next three financial years.

Simon Burns: The 2010 spending review provided the following planned profile of capital expenditure for the Department (the current year is included for completeness):
	
		
			 Spending review 2010 
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Gross capital expenditure 4,648 4,616 4,630 4,831 
			 Asset sale receipts(1) -219 -187 -193 -183 
			 Net capital expenditure 4,429 4,429 4,437 4,648 
			 (1) HM Treasury funding is provided net of asset sales receipts; these are included to show total expenditure forecast.

NHS: Negligence

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many unsuccessful clinical negligence claims were brought against the NHS in each year since 1997-98; and how much unsuccessful claimants spent in (a) defence costs and (b) claimant costs in each year.

Simon Burns: The number of unsuccessful clinical negligence claims brought against the national health service since 1997-98 is set out in the following table. The defence costs and claimant costs for unsuccessful claimants are not known.
	
		
			  Number 
			 1997-98 812 
			 1998-99 3,108 
			 1999-2000 3,836 
			 2000-01 5,762 
			 2001-02 5,966 
			 2002-03 4,780 
			 2003-04 3,339 
			 2004-05 2,691 
			 2005-06 2,540 
			 2006-07 2,225 
			 2007-08 1,920 
			 2008-09 2,022 
			 2009-10 1,793 
			 2010-11 2,097 
			 Note: There are a number of claims outstanding in each year, so these data are subject to change as these claims are resolved. Source: NHS Litigation Authority

Nurses: Schools

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) qualified and (b) other school nurses are employed in each (i) region and (ii) primary care trust; and how many such nurses were employed in each such area in each year since 1997.

Anne Milton: The headcount number of qualified and other school nurses employed in each strategic health authority and primary care trust since 2003 is shown in the table which has been placed in the Library.
	The School Nursing Occupation Code was not introduced until 2003. Prior to this it was not possible to separately identify school nursing within the data. Because of the timing of its introduction in 2003 the code was not mandatory at the time of the annual work force census. Therefore, the data for 2003 are very likely to be incomplete and should not be considered as a full picture of the size of that work force at the time.
	The headcount data for 2010 are based upon new methodology and therefore are not directly comparable with the previous years data based upon the old methodology.

Psychiatry: Waiting Lists

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people in England waiting for access to psychological therapies; and what the average waiting time was for such therapies in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: The Quarter 1 performance statistics for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services released by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care in September this year, showed that there is variation in the numbers of people entering treatment across the country. Nationally, the Department is meeting agreed trajectories. However, there is local variation. The central IAPT team and the departmental performance delivery team have undertaken a number of actions to encourage improvement in access in the areas where the numbers of people entering treatment is below expectations.
	The Department is not able to establish the average waiting time from the NHS Information Centre data. From April 2012, we will be implementing the new IAPT Data Standard. Once the data standard is established and the data quality is assured across all IAPT services, it will be possible to establish the average waiting time in IAPT services.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband: Finance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will publish his criteria for the allocation of funding to the 40 local areas for superfast broadband.

Edward Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) published a data model explanatory note setting out the methodology used to make the local authority funding allocations in July 2011. A copy can be found on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) website, or by using the link:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/BDUK-Data-Model-Expalantory-Notes.pdf

Departmental Communications

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many (a) press officers, (b) internal communications officers, (c) external communications officers, (d) communications strategy officers and (e) other positions with a communications remit were employed by (i) his Department, (ii) its agencies and (iii) each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department on the most recent date for which figures are available.

John Penrose: The following table provides the total number of press officers, internal and external communications officers, communications strategy officers and other positions with a communications remit employed by the Department as at 30 November 2011.
	
		
			 Job title Total number of employees 
			 Press officers 10 
			 Communication officers (internal and external) 21 
			 Communications strategy officers 6 
			 Other positions 9 
			 Total 46 
		
	
	The Department is committed to reduce its administrative budget by 50% over the period of the comprehensive spending review. That will include a reduction in its communications head count. As part of this, with the conclusion of the London 2012 Project in October 2012, all secondments and fixed term appointments to the Government Olympic Executive Communications team (18 posts) will end.
	The Department does not hold this information for our agency and arm's length bodies. I have therefore asked their chief executives to consider the question raised by the hon. Member and to write to him direct. Copies of the replies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Departmental Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what steps his Department takes to ensure that all flags flown from his Department's buildings are fit for display;
	(2)  how many flags his Department has replaced in each of the last 12 months;
	(3)  how many (a) letters, (b) emails and (c) telephone calls his Department has received on the state and condition of flags flown from his Department's buildings in the last 12 months;
	(4)  how many flags his Department (a) owns and (b) maintains; and at what cost to the public purse.

John Penrose: The Department flies one Union flag at a hire charge (no purchase or replacement cost) of £95 a month. This hire cost will be reviewed early next year. The flag is changed and cleaned once a month to ensure it is fit for display. To celebrate St George’s Day, St Andrew’s Day and St David’s Day the Department owns a St George’s flag, a Saltire flag and Welsh Dragon flag. These are inspected once a year and, if required, new flags are procured. However there has been no expenditure on these flags in the past 12 months. We have no records of any letters, e-mails or telephone calls in the last 12 months on the state and condition of the flags we fly.

Risk Assessment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what risk registers are held by the public bodies for which his Department is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

John Penrose: This Department requires its non-departmental public bodies to have in place processes to manage risk and develop a formal risk management strategy (which includes maintaining risk registers) in accordance with Treasury guidance contained in Managing Public Money:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/mpm_ch4.pdf
	The risk strategy is reviewed by the bodies' own boards and by their audit committees and auditors.

Mobile Phones

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will publish his plans for the recently announced £150 million investment in mobile telephone coverage in the period up to 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The mobile phone project is currently in the definition stage and expects to commence procurement early in 2012. The allocation of funds will be dependent upon the delivery model and procurement route to be followed, it is expected that an outline allocation will be clear by the early stages of any procurement approach with final allocations confirmed in later stages. It is envisaged that any contract(s) will be awarded for delivery of services to commence in 2013.

Olympic Games 2012: Folk Dance

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 4 May 2011, Official Report, column 753W, on Olympic Games 2012: folk dance, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in respect of the opening and closing ceremonies; whether such discussions included reference to the inclusion of English traditional folk dance; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: Ministers at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport meet representatives of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) about various London 2012 matters including ceremonies. There were no specific discussions about the inclusion of traditional folk dance in the opening and closing ceremonies. The details of the opening and closing ceremonies are a matter for LOCOG. LOCOG has appointed a world class group of creative experts to develop Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies that will reflect this country's rich and diverse culture and heritage.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Planning: Change of Use

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to publish the findings of his Department's consultation on the relaxation of planning rules for change of use from commercial to residential.

Greg Clark: We are considering the responses to the consultation ‘Relaxation of planning rules for change of use from commercial to residential’ and will publish the findings in due course.

Fire Services: Manpower

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) wholetime, (b) retained, (c) control and (d) non-uniform staff were employed in each fire authority in England on 31 March 2011; and if he will update his Department's Operational Statistics Bulletin of 24 August 2011 to include (i) information and (ii) the strength of each fire authority. [R]

Bob Neill: Numbers of staff employed by each fire and rescue authority on 31 March 2011 for the stated categories are published on the Department's website in table 6 of the appendix tables which accompany the Fire and Rescue Operational Statistics Bulletin:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/researchandstatistics/firestatistics/firerescue/
	The Fire and Rescue Operational Statistics Bulletin also continues to include staffing strength. Numbers by fire and rescue authority can be found in appendix table 2 of the accompanying spreadsheets.
	A copy of this information has been deposited in the Library of the House.

Government Procurement Card

Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2011, Official Report, column 483W, on Freedom of Information, if the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Government Procurement Card transaction of a cash withdrawal for £154.86 on 28 November 2004, and associated £3.10 cash advance handling fee, was an overseas transaction; and in which country the cash withdrawal took place.

Bob Neill: Based on the information available, this was likely to be a foreign currency transaction that was made in London. However, detailed records about the nature of the transaction, which would facilitate a more comprehensive answer, are no longer held centrally.

Non-domestic Rates: Worcester

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) cost to the public purse of appeals of business rates valuations in Worcester constituency in the last two years.

Bob Neill: The number of formal challenges received for Worcester city council for the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Formal challenges received by the Valuation Office Agency 
			  2009-10 2010-11 
			 2005 list 410 90 
			 2010 list n/a 390 
		
	
	Statistics by parliamentary constituency could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the cost to the public purse of appeals is not held centrally.

Parking: City of Westminster

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what discussions officials from his Department have had with Westminster city council on its proposal to generate additional income from parking charges at evenings and weekends; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his policy is in respect of the generation of income by local authorities from parking charges.

Bob Neill: holding answer 28 November 2011
	Officials have not held specific discussions with Westminster city council on this issue.
	Every bit of the public sector needs to do its bit to help tackle the budget deficit inherited from the last Administration. But Ministers have been quite clear that we view increasing charges on local residents as an inappropriate way of making sensible savings. Instead, councils should be saving money through better procurement, cutting fraud, more joint working and using transparency to drive out waste. This stance on charging is different from the last Administration, when DCLG Ministers actively encouraged councils to increase parking charges (for example, as alluded to in the speech to the Local Government Association of 2 July 2008).
	EWHC 13 (Admin).
	Councils have a key role in promoting economic development, supporting local economic growth and local jobs. Making sure that car parking charges are reasonable is an important and practical way in which councils can help support their local high streets. In this context, I am concerned about the effect of higher parking charges on the broader economy of London and the West End, particularly its impact on employees, small firms and sole traders.
	This Government have taken steps to support local high streets. Our plans for the local retention of business rates will mean that councils have a direct financial incentive in supporting business and retail growth in town centres. This is in contrast to the local government system we have inherited, where councils have no real incentives to support local high streets and city centres.
	My Department has also tackled flawed parking rules inherited from the last Administration. In January 2011, we amended national planning guidance to:
	remove Whitehall restrictions which imposed maximum numbers of parking spaces in new residential developments;
	change a policy which inhibited competition between council areas to one that said parking charges should not undermine the vitality of town centres;
	introduce a policy that parking enforcement should be proportionate;
	remove the policy that encouraged councils to set car parking charges to discourage the use of cars; and
	increase support for electric car power-charging infrastructure in parking areas.
	The draft National Planning Policy Framework follows through on these changes by removing restrictions which impose maximum numbers of parking spaces in new non-residential developments. This will relieve pressure on on-street parking and support local high streets.

Parking: Fees and Charges

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on the (a) net and (b) gross income from parking charges in each London local authority in each of the last 10 years.

Bob Neill: I have today placed in the Library of the House a table giving details on the gross and net income from parking services in each London local authority for the last 10 years.

Planning Permission: Biodiversity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the (a) Home Affairs and (b) Economic Affairs Cabinet Sub-Committee has discussed the implications of the draft National Planning Policy Framework for the natural environment.

Greg Clark: In line with the constitutional convention of collective decision-making, and section 2 of the Ministerial Code, the Government, in line with their predecessors, do not disclose details of the internal process through which decisions are taken.

Planning Permission: Carbon Emissions

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect of the draft National Planning Policy Framework on carbon emissions.

Greg Clark: The draft National Planning Policy Framework was accompanied by a consultation stage impact assessment which considered the anticipated impact of the framework on carbon emissions and is available at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/1951736.pdf
	The draft framework states that the planning system should aim to secure, consistent with the Government's published objectives, radical reductions in green house gas emissions, through the appropriate location and layout of new development, and active support for energy efficiency improvements to existing buildings and the delivery of renewable and low-carbon energy infrastructure. We are now carefully considering all consultation responses, and will then publish the final version of the framework together with a final impact assessment.

Postcodes

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department uses postcodes for purposes other than the postage of mail.

Bob Neill: The Department uses postcodes for a number of operational purposes other than the delivery of mail. They are a valuable means of referencing geographic locations and are widely used and understood by the general public because of their relationship to addresses.
	They are principally used by the Department for the compilation, validation, and collation of statistics and to provide accessible information to citizens in support of, for example, the Transparency agenda.

Regional Planning and Development

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that planning policy encourages the development of (a) high streets, (b) town centres and (c) empty commercial properties; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The Government are fully committed to supporting our high streets and town centres and to maintaining a strong “town centre first” policy which identifies town centres as the preferred location for retail developments. The draft National Planning Policy Framework asks local planning authorities to pursue policies to support the viability and vitality of town centres. We are now considering all responses to the consultation.
	We are also considering the responses to the consultation “Relaxation of planning rules for change of use from commercial to residential” and will publish the findings in due course.
	With regard to empty commercial properties, the Government supported the work to create industry standard “meanwhile” leases to encourage temporary occupation of empty retail premises in order to improve the vitality of town centres.
	Town centres have suffered under restrictions on parking introduced by the previous Administration, reducing their ability to compete with out of town supermarkets.
	Consequently, in January, my Department amended planning rules on parking to:
	(a) change a policy which inhibited competition between council areas to one that said parking charges should not undermine the vitality of town centres;
	(b) introduce a policy that parking enforcement should be proportionate;
	(c) remove the policy that encouraged councils to set car parking charges to discourage the use of cars; and
	(d) encourage more charging spaces for electric cars.
	The draft National Planning Policy Framework also proposes to remove Whitehall restrictions which impose an arbitrary cap on parking spaces in new non-residential developments.

Waste Disposal: Second-hand Goods

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether it is his policy to support by-laws enabling local authorities to selectively license premises dealing in second-hand goods for the purposes of preventing the disposal of stolen goods.

Grant Shapps: holding answer 5 December 2011
	Our policy is that byelaws are not appropriate where national legislation already exists to address the issue in question. National legislation already prohibits the handling of stolen goods.

PRIME MINISTER

Youth Unemployment

John Mann: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the level of youth unemployment.

David Cameron: The problem of rising youth unemployment has been ongoing since 2004. Comprehensive action is required to ensure young people have sustained employment opportunities in the private sector.
	So the Government have launched the £1 billion Youth Contract, which will provide an extra 250,000 work experience places and 160,000 wage incentive payments.
	The Government are also providing over 440,000 apprenticeship places this year, opening up 24 University Technical Colleges and ensuring vulnerable young people have faster access to the specialised support of the Work programme.
	This Government are also reforming our schools so that young people leave better equipped to join the work force.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Birds of Prey

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate she has made of the number of birds of prey in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: As set out in the following table are the current estimates of breeding populations of diurnal birds of prey in the UK. The estimates derive from the observations of many hundreds of volunteer observers who contribute to annual monitoring programmes (such as the Breeding Bird Survey) and periodic surveys funded by: the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC); the country conservation agencies; the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; the Raptor Study Groups; the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO); and other partner organisations, as well as through the work of the JNCC and BTO co-funded Rare Breeding Birds Panel.
	
		
			 Species Most recent estimation of UK population size Units of estimation Period Source 
			 Honey-buzzard 33-69 Pairs 2000 Batten, LA. 2001. European Honey-buzzard Survey 2000 and 2001: preliminary results and request for further surveys. British Birds 94:143-144. 
			     Ogilvie, M.A. 2003. European Honey-buzzards in the UK—correction to breeding totals. British Birds 96: 145. 
			 Red Kite 1,500+ Pairs 2009 Holling, M, and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2011. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2009. British Birds 104: 476-537. 
			 White-tailed Eagle 39-46 Pairs 2009 Holling, M. and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2011. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2009. British Birds 104: 476-537. 
			 Marsh Harrier 404 Breeding females/pairs 2005-09 Holling, M. and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2011. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2009. British Birds 104: 476-537. 
			 Hen Harrier 633 Territorial pairs 2010 Hayhow, D.B., Bladwell, S, Etheridge, B., Ewing, S., Ruddock, M., Saunders, R,, Sharpe, C, Sim, I.M.W., Stevenson, A., Eaton, M.A. (In preparation). The status of the Hen Harrier, Circus cyaneus, in the UK and Isle of Man in 2010. 
			 Montagu's Harrier 15 Pairs 2005-09 Holling, M. and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2011. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2009. British Birds 104: 476-537. 
		
	
	
		
			 Goshawk 431 Pairs 2005-09 Holling, M. and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2011. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2009. British Birds 104: 476-537. 
			 Sparrowhawk 41,000 Pairs 2000 Stone, B.H., Sears, J., Cranswick, PA, Gregory, R.D., Gibbons, D.W., Rehfisch, M.M., Aebischer, N.J., and Reid, J.B. 1997. Population estimates of birds in Britain and in the United Kingdom. British Birds 90: 1-22. 
			     Crick, H.Q.P., Marchant, J. H„ Noble, D. G., Baillie, S. R., Balmer, D. E., Beaven, L P., Coombes, R. H., Downie, 1. S., Freeman, S. N., Joys, A. C, Leech, D. 1., Raven, M. J., Robinson, R. A., and Thewlis, R. M. 2004. Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2003. BTO Research Report No. 353. BTO, Thetford. 
			 Buzzard 72,529-90,661 Pairs 2009 Total derives from Clements' estimate corrected with BBS trend to 2009 (Avian Population Estimates Panel in prep).. 
			     Clements, R. 2002. The Common Buzzard in Britain: a new population estimate. British Birds 95: 377-383. 
			     Risely, K., Baillie, S.R., Eaton, M.A., Joys, A.C., Musgrove, A.J., Noble, D.G., Renwick, A.R. and Wright, L.J. 2010. The Breeding Bird Survey 2009. BTO Research Report 559. British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford 
			 Golden Eagle 442 Pairs 2003 Eaton, M.A., Dillon, I.A., Stirling-Aird, P.K., Whitfield, D.P. 2007. Status of golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos in Britain in 2003. Bird Study 54: 212-220. 
			 Osprey 180 Pairs 2005-09 Holling, M. and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2011. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2009. British Birds 104: 476-537. 
			 Kestrel 46,430 Pairs 2009 Total derives from estimate of 1988-92 breeding Atlas corrected with BBS trend to 2009 (Avian Population Estimates Panel in prep). Gibbons, D.W., Reid, J.B. and Chapman, R.A. 1993 The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1988-1991. London, T, and A.D. Poyser. 520 pp. Risely, K., Baillie, S.R., Eaton, M.A., Joys, A.C., Musgrove, A.J., Noble, D.G., Renwick, A.R. and Wright, U. 2010. The Breeding Bird Survey 2009. BTO Research Report 559. British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford. 
			 Merlin 1,160 (912-1,532) Pairs 2008 Holling, M. and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2010. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2008. British Birds 103: 482-538. 
			 Hobby 2,200 Pairs 2000 Clements, R. 2001. The Hobby in Britain: a new population estimate. British Birds 94: 402-408. 
			 Peregrine 1,499 Pairs 2002 Banks, A.N., Crick, H.P.Q., Coombes, R.H., Benn, S., Ratcliffe, D.A. and Humphreys, E.M. 2010. The breeding status of the Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man in 2002. Bird Study 57: 421-436.

Heating: Hydrofluorocarbons

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress her Department has made in phasing out hydrofluorocarbons from domestic heat pumps.

James Paice: A comprehensive EU regulatory framework to contain, prevent and thereby reduce emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) from equipment such as heat pumps is already in place, having been fully implemented since 2009 in Great Britain by the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/261). However, this framework stops short of controls to phase out the production of the gases themselves.
	There are existing proposals at an international level to use the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer to phase down the production and use of HFCs. This would affect all types of equipment, not just domestic heat pumps. The UK Government remains supportive in principle of an international phase-down of production and consumption of HFCs but there are many technical issues to be discussed before any formal negotiations on a phase-down could take place. The Government will continue to push for the development of a phase-down agreement at future Montreal Protocol and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meetings and support this aim. Further detailed analysis of impacts of the proposals will be conducted.
	The latest estimate of HFC emissions from Heat Pumps, based on the assessment by consultants AEA, which is available on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/air/fgas/background.htm#publications
	is that 0.06 kt CO2 eq. of HFC134a would be emitted from heat pumps in 2009, rising to 0.16 kt CO2 eq. of HFC134a by 2025. It should be noted that these estimates include all heat pumps, not just domestic ones, are highly uncertain, and also very small in relation to HFC emissions from the other sectors. These estimates are not currently included in either the main F-gas model or the UK national green house gas emission totals, and further work is needed to refine the fundamental parameters before the emissions from this sector can be included.

Marine Conservation Zones

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the effect of the European Commission's proposed system of regionalisation in the basic regulations of the reformed EU Common Fisheries Policy on management systems for marine conservation zones;
	(2)  whether she plans to reorganise nationally designated marine conservation zones following reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the effect of delays to reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy on designation of marine conservation zones.

Richard Benyon: As UK Fisheries Minister I will carry out an assessment of all elements of the European Commission's proposals on reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) will be designated for their contribution to an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas. Their location will be determined by the distribution of marine species and habitats, along with consideration of the potential socio-economic impacts of the proposed MCZs. As their locations will be determined by the ecology and the impacts on sea users, I do not anticipate that reform of the CFP would have any effect on the designation process or require any reorganisation.

River Nene: Fishing

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Environment Agency is taking to tackle illegal fishing on the River Nene in Cambridgeshire; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency is aware of a concern among anglers that illegal fishing may be affecting fish stocks on some rivers, the River Nene being an example. While most anglers return their catch, there is a culture within some communities to retain fish for the table.
	The issue was recognised some years ago and fisheries byelaws have recently changed to make it an offence to remove most fish from our rivers. The Environment Agency employs officers to enforce the byelaws and respond to reports of illegal activity. They work with local angling clubs and request police assistance if appropriate.
	In addition to enforcement, education is also important, and the Environment Agency is working with the Angling Trust on a ‘Building Bridges' project. A project officer has been appointed to explain our culture and fisheries legislation to these communities. An angling event to promote this was held in Cambridgeshire in late November.

Rural Areas: Renewable Energy

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to publish details of (a) the Rural Community Renewable Energy Fund and (b) the sources of its funding.

Richard Benyon: Further details about the Rural Community Renewable Energy Fund, including its funding, management and operation, will be published in the new year.

Rural Growth Network

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to publish the criteria for the competition to identify the Rural Growth Network pilot projects.

Richard Benyon: Further information about the Rural Growth Network competition and selection process will be announced during this month, with bids from Local Enterprise Partnerships likely to be invited by the end of January 2012. We aim to announce the pilot areas by March 2012.

Waste Disposal: Business

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to introduce responsibility deals for business waste.

Richard Benyon: The Review of Waste Policy in England, which we published in June 2011, committed the Government to exploring the potential for new voluntary responsibility deals to drive waste prevention and recycling. These include deals with the hospitality sector, the waste management industry and for direct mail, textiles, and construction waste. Responsibility deals in other areas may also be considered.
	A responsibility deal with the Environmental Services Association was published on 23 June. Among the deal's key commitments are providing better advice about waste prevention, improving recycling collections for small and medium enterprises, raising the industry's environmental profile, adhering to best practice in making contracts more user-friendly, and sharing data about key trends.
	A new responsibility deal on direct mail was launched on 1 November. It commits the Government and the direct marketing industry to working together to improve the industry's environmental performance and, in particular, support a move towards a zero-waste, low-carbon economy. The new deal will give people more control over what gets posted through their letterboxes and ensure that the direct mail they find useful is produced to higher standards and is fully recyclable.
	DEFRA is working with the industry, devolved Administrations and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to produce a new responsibility deal with businesses in the hospitality and food service sector to reduce food and packaging waste and ensure that unavoidable waste is managed sustainably. On 22 November, a discussion paper outlining the proposed targets and structure of the deal was published on WRAP'S website:
	www.wrap.org.uk
	Comments about this paper will be used to produce the final deal, which we hope to launch in spring 2012.

Whaling

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the international bans on (a) whaling and (b) the international trade of whale products.

Richard Benyon: The UK strongly supports the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling. This was introduced in 1986 and has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of whales being killed. The UK will continue to oppose ongoing commercial and ‘scientific' whaling and press for the greater conservation and protection of whales.
	I attended this year's IWC meeting to demonstrate the UK Government's commitment to the work of the IWC, and our support for the moratorium on whaling.
	The UK firmly supports the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) restrictions on international trade in whale meat and whale products. The EU prohibits the international trade in all whale meat and products.
	Under CITES, a Party with a reservation placed against a species of whale can trade in that species, but only with a non-Party to CITES or a Party who has similarly placed a reservation. Iceland, Japan, Norway and Palau have reservations in place against several whale species listings, and for example, Iceland can, and does, trade in fin whale meat with Japan.

Whaling: Faroe Islands

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Faroese government on the hunting of whales, dolphins and porpoises by Faroese fishermen.

Richard Benyon: The UK Government recognise the strength of feeling in the UK about the hunting of cetaceans in the Faroe Islands. As pilot whales and other small cetaceans are not covered by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling, it is for the Faroese Government to decide whether to continue these hunts.
	Nevertheless, the UK has long been concerned about the cruel way in which these hunts are conducted and has pressed for improvements for a number of years, both directly and within the IWC. I will continue to make our strong opposition to these hunts known to the Faroe Islands.
	We also made progress at this year's annual meeting of the ‘Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas' (ASCOBANS). The UK raised concerns about the increasing numbers, and diversity of species being taken, namely Risso's and white-sided dolphins. In response, the Faroe Islands indicated that the hunting of Risso's dolphins would not continue.

EDUCATION

Carers: Young People

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department is taking steps to ensure local authorities (a) identify young carers in families affected by illness, disability or substance misuse and (b) assess the support needs of such carers.

Tim Loughton: We know that the identification of young carers remains the single biggest challenge to ensuring that they receive the support to which they are entitled. To that end my Department is funding The Children's Society and The Princess Royal Trust for Carers for two years to: identify and share existing best practice in identifying and supporting young carers and their families; and run regional workshops with local authorities and young carers services to support the delivery of ‘whole family’ support for young carers and their families. We have also funded the development of an e-learning package for staff in schools on identifying and supporting young carers.

Carers: Young People

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many local authorities are using the model memorandum of understanding on working together to support young carers.

Tim Loughton: We do not yet hold this information. The Department is funding The Children's Society to run regional workshops with local authorities and young carers services to support the delivery of ‘whole family’ support for young carers and their families. The local authorities that attend the regional workshops will be surveyed to establish the number that have adopted the model memorandum of understanding drafted by the Associations of Directors of Adult and Children’s services.

Schools: Sports

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many school sports co-ordinators there were in each local authority area for each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 22 November 2011
	The Department does not hold this information for each of the years requested. However, the following table shows the number of school sport co-ordinators that were in each local authority for the 2010-11 financial year.
	
		
			 LEA Total of school sport co-ordinators 
			 Barking and Dagenham (LB) 11 
			 Barnet (LB) 23 
			 Barnsley 17 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 15 
			 Bedfordshire 57 
			 Bexley (LB) 19 
			 Birmingham 78 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 12 
			 Blackpool 9 
			 Bolton 14 
			 Bournemouth 11 
		
	
	
		
			 Bracknell Forest 5 
			 Bradford 32 
			 Brent (LB) 15 
			 Brighton and Hove 12 
			 Bristol City 27 
			 Bromley (LB) 20 
			 Buckinghamshire 34 
			 Bury 14 
			 Calderdale 15 
			 Cambridgeshire 34 
			 Camden (LB) 10 
			 Cheshire 48 
			 Cornwall 32 
			 Coventry 23 
			 Croydon (LB) 24 
			 Cumbria 45 
			 Darlington 8 
			 Derby 13 
			 Derbyshire 46 
			 Devon 37.5 
			 Doncaster 20 
			 Dorset 33 
			 Dudley 20.5 
			 Durham 40 
			 Ealing (LB) 15 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 18 
			 East Sussex 31 
			 Enfield (LB) 20 
			 Essex 79.5 
			 Gateshead 11 
			 Gloucestershire 46 
			 Greenwich (LB) 13 
			 Hackney (LB) 14 
			 Halton 8 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham (LB) 9 
			 Hampshire 76 
			 Haringey (LB) 13 
			 Harrow (LB) 9 
			 Hartlepool 6.5 
			 Havering (LB) 14 
			 Herefordshire 16 
			 Hertfordshire 87.5 
			 Hillingdon (LB) 17 
			 Hounslow (LB) 15 
			 Isle of Wight 16 
			 Isles of Scilly 1 
			 Islington (LB) 12 
			 Kensington and Chelsea (LB) 5 
			 Kent 107 
			 Kingston upon Hull 16 
			 Kingston upon Thames (LB) 9 
			 Kirklees 34 
			 Knowsley 16 
			 Lambeth (LB) 14 
			 Lancashire 91 
			 Leeds 48 
			 Leicester 19 
			 Leicestershire 54 
			 Lewisham (LB) 14 
			 Lincolnshire 66 
			 Liverpool 33.5 
		
	
	
		
			 Luton 15 
			 Manchester 28.5 
			 Medway 19 
			 Merton (LB) 9 
			 Middlesbrough 10 
			 Milton Keynes 12 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 16.5 
			 Newham(LB) 14.5 
			 Norfolk 51 
			 North East Lincolnshire 12 
			 North Lincolnshire 17 
			 North Somerset 10 
			 North Tyneside 17 
			 North Yorkshire 52 
			 Northamptonshire 44 
			 Northumberland 67 
			 Nottingham 21 
			 Nottinghamshire 48 
			 Oldham 16 
			 Oxfordshire 36 
			 Peterborough 17 
			 Plymouth 19 
			 Poole 10 
			 Portsmouth 10 
			 Reading 7 
			 Redbridge (LB) 17.5 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 13 
			 Richmond Upon Thames (LB) 7 
			 Rochdale 16 
			 Rotherham 17 
			 Rutland 3 
			 Salford 19 
			 Sandwell 23 
			 Sefton 22 
			 Sheffield 31 
			 Shropshire 23 
			 Slough 13 
			 Solihull 15 
			 Somerset 39 
			 South Gloucestershire 18 
			 South Tyneside 12 
			 Southampton 16 
			 Southend-on-Sea 16 
			 Southwark (LB) 20 
			 St Helens 12 
			 Staffordshire 73.5 
			 Stockport 16 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 14 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 20 
			 Suffolk 84.5 
			 Sunderland 21 
			 Surrey 57 
			 Sutton (LB) 14 
			 Swindon 13 
			 Tameside 18 
			 Telford and Wrekin 17 
			 Thurrock 12 
			 Torbay 8 
			 Tower Hamlets (LB) 15 
			 Trafford 17 
			 Wakefield 19 
		
	
	
		
			 Walsall 23 
			 Waltham Forest (LB) 21 
			 Wandsworth (LB) 13 
			 Warrington 14 
			 Warwickshire 38 
			 West Berkshire 11 
			 West Sussex 44 
			 Westminster (LB) 12 
			 Wigan 21 
			 Wiltshire 29.5 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 13 
			 Wirral 23 
			 Wokingham 9 
			 Wolverhampton 19 
			 Worcestershire 71 
			 York City 14

Youth Services: Per Capita Costs

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much each English local authority reported in the S251 financial returns as outturn expenditure on (a) youth work, (b) Connexions and (c) all provisions for young people per capita in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 24 November 2011
	A copy of the tables showing outturn expenditure per capita for each local authority in England on (a) youth work, (b) Connexions and (c) all provision of activities for young people in 2008-09 and 2009-10 has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	There is significant variation between local authorities in the amounts shown under each category which may reflect different interpretations of the guidance on completing the returns. The Department has commissioned a full review of how the data are collected, what they are used for, and of quality assurance.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Maintenance

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much money the Child Support Agency has received but not yet passed on to the parent with care;
	(2)  how long it takes the Child Support Agency to pass maintenance payments on to the parent with care.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Child Support Agency (CSA), the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the CSA is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (the Commission).
	; and
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long it takes the Child Support Agency to pass maintenance payments on to the parent with care.
	The CSA holds money received from non-resident parents in a separate bank account maintained specifically for client funds. The balance of the client fund account is the amount received which has not yet been paid out to parents with care or the Secretary of State, as appropriate.
	This amount is disclosed in the Client Funds Account published on the Commission's website here:
	http://www.childmaintenance.org/en/pdf/CMEC-Client-Funds-Account-09-10.pdf
	The last published accounts state that at 31 March 2010, the balance was £16.3 million. Of this balance, £8.0 million of receipts had not yet cleared into the account, and £8.3 million was in the process of being assigned and allocated before payment. The Client Funds Account for 2010/2011 will be published in the near future.
	Payments are not made to the parent with care until such time as the receipt from the non-resident parent has cleared the banking system. Once the funds are cleared the payment is initiated by the method agreed with the parent with care. The CSA's preferred method is by direct credit to a bank account in the name of the parent with care.
	In September 2011 96% of payments for cases on the CSCS system and 98% of payments on CS2 system were made within seven days.
	The following table also shows in September 2011 the number of days it took to pass on maintenance payments to parents with care, split by CS2 and CSCS.
	
		
			  Percentage  of payments 
			 Number of days CSCS CS2 
			 Same day — 45 
			 1 day 21 9 
			 2 days 20 8 
			 3 days 15 3 
			 4 days 17 6 
			 5 days 1 3 
			 6 days 2 4 
			 7 days 20 20 
			 7+ days 5 3 
			 Notes: 1. There are currently two statutory child maintenance schemes in operation: the 1993 scheme (for cases initiated before 3 March 2003) administered on the CSCS and CS2 computer systems; and the 2003 (for cases commenced on or after 3 March 2003) administered on the CS2 computer system. 2. Figures do not include cases managed off-system. 3. Figures may not sum due to rounding. 4. These figures are calculated from the date in which the Commission received cleared funds from the non-resident parent to when the Commission sends payment to the parent with care. 
		
	
	The majority of payments are made to parents within seven days of receiving cleared funds from the non-resident parent. This can be longer if insufficient information is provided by the payer to enable the CSA to allocate the receipt to the correct case (such as the case reference number or the non-resident parent's national insurance number) and consequently to allow the transaction to be processed. In this case, the money is kept in a holding account allowing for checks to take place to allocate the payment to a non-resident parent. Once the funds have been allocated then funds are typically paid out on the same day for cases on CS2 system or within one day for CSCS system.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Maintenance

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Child Support Agency in collecting payments from a non-resident parent.

Maria Miller: The proportion of parents with a statutory maintenance liability paying child maintenance in September 2011 was 77.8%.
	The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, which is also responsible for the Child Support Agency, has improved its effectiveness in collecting payments from the non-resident parents over the past few years, but we recognise that much more needs to be done. More than three million children live in separated families, but only around 50% of those benefit from an effective maintenance arrangement. In addition the annual running costs of the statutory maintenance scheme is approximately £460 million, on average a cost of around 40p for each £1 of child maintenance collected or arranged, and this does not represent value for money to the taxpayer.
	The Green Paper consultation document published in January—‘Strengthening families, promoting parental responsibility: the future of child maintenance’—outlines our assessment of some of the issues of the current system and sets out our plans for the radical reshaping of the child maintenance system. The Government's response to the consultation was published on 12 July.

Child Maintenance

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the suitability of the assessment criteria used by the Child Support Agency for child maintenance payments.

Maria Miller: There are currently two child support schemes, each with quite different rules. On the older of the two schemes, the information about our clients is so historic that almost 200,000 cases are assessed as needing to pay nothing. Around half of children living in separated families have no effective financial arrangement in place at all. All this means that many children are missing out.
	This is why we want to reform the system and introduced our Green Paper, ‘Strengthening families, promoting parental responsibility: the future of child Maintenance’ published in January 2011, in which we confirmed plans to introduce a single new child maintenance scheme from 2012. This new scheme will make use of income data from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
	On 1 December 2011 the Government launched a public consultation for views on the draft regulations for the future scheme. Further details can be found here:
	http://www.childmaintenance.org/en/publications/consultations.html

Housing Benefit: Manpower

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will announce what will happen to staff currently administering housing benefit when it is replaced by universal credit.

Chris Grayling: Universal credit is a national benefit. It will be delivered largely through an online service, with its core administration most efficiently run by a centralised system. As the DWP start to build the organisation to deliver universal credit, and we have yet to settle on the precise detail, and select the right people with the right capability it is likely some of those skills will exist within local authorities. We will therefore always look to include local authority staff in our thinking.
	In relation to the longer-term delivery of universal credit, we will continue to work with colleagues in HM Revenue and Customs and local authorities to test new ways of working and impact ongoing delivery model design at both a national and local level. Our aim is to work collaboratively to enable the decision making process and deliver optimal value. This includes the decision making around any redundancies, for which we have small amount in our business case (whether they are in DWP, HMRC or local authorities). However, we will work to reduce the number of redundancies as far as possible, given the time available to us to plan and complete the transition to universal credit by 2017. I expect survey results to be available from local authorities by the end of the year and hope to be able to provide more details of the transition plan in the new year.

Jobseeker’s Allowance

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time taken to assess claims for jobseeker's allowance was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: Jobcentre Plus monitors the average time taken to process new claims via internal measurement indicators using an average actual clearance time (AACT) for jobseeker's allowance (JSA).
	AACT measures the average number of working days we take to process new claims. It does not mean that all claims for that benefit should be processed within that time, as it is an average. We do expect some claims to take longer, particularly if the customer's circumstances are complex or there is a delay in the customer returning information required to enable us to process their claim.
	AACT is calculated from our benefit processing system and is a result of taking all the claim volumes processed within any given month against the total number of days each claim has taken to process. The system conducts a simple division calculation using these data sets to provide us with the average actual clearance time (AACT).
	For JSA, the start date is either the date the customer first contacted Jobcentre Plus or the customers first day of unemployment, whichever is the later. The end date is the date a formal decision is made on the claim and a notification is issued to the customer on entitlement.
	The AACT performance for the latest available month, along with the year to date position is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Days 
			  October 2011 Year to date 
			 JSA 9.1 9.5 
			 Source: Management Information System Programme (MISP) November 2011 
		
	
	The data are collected from Management Information System Programme (MISP). MISP is the departmental performance management, data capture and reporting tool. The statistics presented here have not been subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes that are used for official statistics and as a result they should be used with a degree of caution.

Social Justice Directorate

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of staff of his Department who will work in the Social Justice Directorate in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15.

Chris Grayling: The Strategy Group, which the Social Justice Directorate is part of, is operating a flexible resourcing approach. This means that the headcount across the Strategy Group will be regularly reviewed to ensure it is deployed against organisational priorities.

Social Security Benefits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to reduce the number of people who are penalised for mistakes on their benefit applications.

Chris Grayling: There is no measure to penalise those who make mistakes on their benefit applications.
	The Government have made provision in the Welfare Reform Bill, which is currently before Parliament, to introduce a civil penalty to deter individuals from negligent behaviour in future and increase their personal responsibility for keeping claims correct. In the long term we expect the number of penalties imposed to reduce as a result of encouraging a positive change in claimant behaviour.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how he will ensure that the expertise of local authority benefit fraud staff is not lost when the Single Fraud Investigation Service is established.

Chris Grayling: The new Single Fraud Investigation Service (SFIS) will be formed by consolidating the benefit and tax credit fraud investigation teams across DWP, local authorities and HMRC, which will enable them to undertake a single investigation for the first time. This will be a much better service and a much more efficient way of using investigative resources, and ensure the expertise that currently exists across all these areas is not lost.
	We recently ran a consultation exercise with local authorities (LAs) to consider four options for local authority staff to become part of SFIS. Of the 285 responses received 76% of LAs agreed with our assessment that the option for local authority staff to remain employed by LAs, but operate under SFIS powers, policies, processes and priorities, was the most suitable option at this time. This will effectively bring local authority investigation staff into SFIS.
	Local authorities were informed of the decision to proceed with this option on 1 December. We will continue to work collaboratively with them to co-design an operational structure for SFIS from 2013.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Director of Public Prosecutions will be funded to carry out fraud work with the new Single Fraud Investigation Service.

Chris Grayling: The DWP has agreed that resources will be transferred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to undertake fraud prosecutions in the future, including those cases investigated by the Single Fraud Investigation Service.
	The transfer of prosecution work from DWP to the CPS is currently in a transition phase, during which details are being worked out. A funding transfer is being discussed as part of that transition.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2011, Official Report, column 729W, on universal credit, what proportion of the funds allocated to the implementation of universal credit will be spent on (a) IT development, (b) programme management and (c) design of the universal credit system and processes in 2011-12.

Chris Grayling: The Department is currently forecasting to spend £105 million of the budget allocated to the implementation of universal credit in the financial year 2011-12. The majority will be spent on IT development with the balance on programme management and the design of the universal credit system and processes.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the budget allocated to implementation of universal credit will be spent for each purpose in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14, (c) 2014-15 and (d) 2015-16.

Chris Grayling: The 2010 spending review settlement included funding of £2 billion for the period 2011-12 to 2014-15. This is intended to meet all the costs of introducing universal credit, including any increases in benefit expenditure, additional benefit administration costs in the transition period, the costs of IT development and implementation, communications, staff training and programme management.
	Expenditure for years beyond 2011-12 is indicative and subject to adjustments as plans for the programme develops.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the priorities for development in Afghanistan.

Andrew Mitchell: The Afghanistan development programme, of which Britain is a strong supporter, continues to make progress. The IMF country programme has been restored. This is a renewed commitment to tackling corruption, improving governance and delivering services to ordinary Afghans.

Afghanistan

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the priorities for development in Afghanistan.

Andrew Mitchell: The Afghanistan development programme, of which Britain is a strong supporter, continues to make progress. The IMF country programme has been restored. This is a renewed commitment to tackling corruption, improving governance and delivering services to ordinary Afghans.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking on funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency in 2012.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK supports the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to deliver essential services to nearly 5 million Palestinian refugees. We are currently considering further support for schools in Gaza.

Africa

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of spending by his Department in Africa.

Stephen O'Brien: Our Bilateral Aid Review (BAR), completed in March this year, assessed the effectiveness of our bilateral development spending including in Africa. We have published Operational Plans for our 19 African programmes which set out the results that we will deliver over the spending review period. These plans will be reviewed annually.
	DFID's Management Board review on a quarterly basis the extent to which DFID’s interventions in Africa are on track; and we have an ongoing programme of evaluation in our country programmes. In addition to these processes I have also visited most of our offices in Africa at least once to help consider and assess their programmes.

Aid Effectiveness

Phil Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on measuring the effectiveness of overseas aid.

Andrew Mitchell: DFID is leading the international consensus on improving aid effectiveness. We have introduced rigorous independent evaluation of our efforts. Britain is driving change internationally, including through agreements at the Busan High Level Forum last week.

Capita

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many contracts his Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each contract.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not awarded any centrally-let contracts to Capita since May 2010.
	To provide information relating to contracts which may have been awarded to Capita by our delegated procurement officers based in overseas locations would incur disproportionate costs.

Conciliation Resources

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has allocated to Conciliation Resources for their work in Abkhazia, Georgia in each financial year since 2008.

Stephen O'Brien: Conciliation Resources have received funds for peace building work in the South Caucasus through the tri-departmental Conflict Pool (Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and Department for International Development) and through the Department for International Development's Governance and Transparency Fund for activities, some of which take place in Abkhazia, Georgia. Funding has been at the following levels since 2008:
	2008-09: £363,801;
	2009-10: £384,200;
	2010-11: £429,172; and
	in 2011-12, funding has been approved at £330,315.
	The nature of this work, which is active across different regions, does not allow for a precise breakdown for the Abkhazia region only.

Conciliation Resources

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department plans to allocate to Conciliation Resources for work in Abkhazia, Georgia in 2012-13.

Stephen O'Brien: Under the Department for International Development's Governance and Transparency Fund, Conciliation Resources receive funding for a project called ‘Increasing Government Accountability in Conflict Zones through Public Participation in Policymaking’. Some elements of this project take place in Abkhazia, Georgia. For 2012-13, £107,896 has been allocated to the Georgian-Abkhaz component of this project.
	The nature of the project, which works across different regions, does not allow for a precise breakdown for the Abkhazia region only.

Conciliation Resources

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects have been undertaken by Conciliation Resources with funding from his Department in Abkhazia, Georgia since 2008.

Stephen O'Brien: Conciliation Resources have received funding through the Department for International Development's (DFID) Governance and Transparency fund since April 2008 for a project called ‘Increasing Government Accountability in Conflict Zones through Public Participation in Policymaking’. Some elements of this project take place in Abkhazia, Georgia.
	Through the Conflict Pool, managed tri-departmentally between the Ministry of Defence, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and DFID, Conciliation Resources have received funds since 2008 for a project called ‘Building Confidence in Conflict Transformation: the Georgian-Abkhaz Context’. Some elements of this project take place in Abkhazia, Georgia.
	These projects focus on building relations among people affected by conflict, and strengthening the ability of local people to resolve their conflict.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the International Climate Fund will be affected by the decision to adjust the the allocation of Official Development Assistance in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility's revised growth forecast.

Andrew Mitchell: The £2.9 billion allocation to the International Climate Fund will not be affected by the announcement in the autumn statement.

International Assistance

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with international aid organisations about the Multilateral Aid Review.

Andrew Mitchell: I wrote last month to all 39 multilateral organisations where Department for International Development (DFID) continues to be part of core funding decisions, outlining priority areas for improvement. The letter also confirmed that to continue to inform robust decisions in DFID core aid funding to multilateral, DFID will update the multilateral aid review (MAR) for all 39 organisations in 2013, focusing on those particular areas for improvement.
	DFID is in ongoing discussions with multilateral partners on areas for improvement, and to monitor progress.

Libya: Politics and Government

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to assist the development of democracy in Libya.

Andrew Mitchell: The UK continues to support the Libyan Transitional Government to achieve the Libyan people's ambitions for a peaceful, democratic future. In consultation with the UN and other international partners, we are exploring options to encourage strong political participation in the transition process, in particular by women and youth groups.

Sri Lanka: Internally Displaced People

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the government of Sri Lanka on land registration in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

Andrew Mitchell: I have not had any recent discussions with the Government of Sri Lanka, but the High Commission in Colombo regularly urges the Government of Sri Lanka to resolve land disputes through a fair and accountable process. Land rights are challenging in most post-conflict situations involving internally displaced people or refugees. In Sri Lanka, the system of land distribution and multiple displacements of different groups and individuals over many years have resulted in many issues over land, including competing claims on the same land.

TREASURY

Capita: Contracts

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many contracts his Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each contract.

Chloe Smith: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Tristram Hunt), on 4 July 2011, Official Report, column 1083W.

Child Benefit

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what proportion of the funding he has allocated to administering new arrangements for higher rate taxpayer families in receipt of child benefit will be allocated to new PAYE disclosure systems;
	(2)  by what means higher rate taxpayers with a child benefit recipient in their household will be able to disclose their circumstances if their only existing contact with HM Revenue and Customs is through PAYE;
	(3)  if he will estimate the number of higher rate taxpayers who will be required to declare a child benefit recipient in their household who (a) do not and (b) do complete a tax return;
	(4)  when he expects HM Revenue and Customs Real Time Information IT system to be capable of administering his proposals for taxation of higher rate taxpayer household child benefit recipients; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The preliminary indicative estimate for delivering the change to child benefit announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), on 4 October 2010 is £130 million over the four-year spending review period. This figure covers the changes required to existing IT systems and other administrative costs, such as staffing and communications. Of the 1.5 million higher rate taxpayers affected, HMRC estimate that approximately 700,000 currently complete a tax return and 800,000 do not currently complete a tax return. The policy will be administered through the tax system using existing systems and processes.

Defence: Procurement

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his announcements on procurement in the Autumn Statement constitute a third phase of the Growth Review; and whether the defence industry will be involved.

Danny Alexander: The procurement policy measures set out in the autumn statement were a product of phase two of the Growth Review. No decisions have been taken on the next phase of the Growth Review.

Emergencies

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent staff work on the financial services workstream of the Capabilities programme; and what the staffing level was in each of the last 10 quarters.

Mark Hoban: Work on the financial services workstream of the National Resilience Capabilities programme is carried out by staff as part of a broader portfolio of work concerning finance sector resilience. It is not possible to provide a specific full-time equivalent figure for the Capabilities programme aspect of that work for this or previous years.

Emergencies

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who the lead Minister in his Department is for the financial services workstream of the Capabilities programme.

Mark Hoban: I am the lead Minister for the financial services workstream of the National Resilience Capabilities programme.

Emergencies

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the budget was for the financial services workstream of the Capabilities programme in each year since 2005; and what the budget will be during the comprehensive spending review period.

Mark Hoban: Work on the financial services workstream of the National Resilience Capabilities programme has been carried out as part of a broader portfolio of work concerning finance sector resilience. A specific budgetary allocation has not been provided for this workstream.

Employment

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate how many new jobs will need to be created to keep pace with population growth in each of the next 10 years.

Chloe Smith: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) released the official forecast for UK whole economy employment to the first quarter of 2017 as part of the November 2011 “Economic and Fiscal Outlook”.
	The OBR expects UK population aged 16 and above to rise by 1.8 million, or around 3.5%, between the start of 2011 and the start of 2017.
	Over the same period, total employment is forecast to increase at a similar pace (around 3.5%), from 29.2 million to 30.2 million.
	As a result, the OBR forecasts that the 16+ employment rate (number of people in employment among those aged 16 and above) will remain broadly unchanged at around 58.5 over the period.
	The Government are taking steps to support private sector job creation and reduce unemployment:
	Reducing red tape and facilitating access to finance for small and medium sized enterprises through credit easing, helping businesses to grow and take on new workers;
	Implementing reforms to help people find work including specific support for young people through the Youth Contract.

Enterprise Investment Scheme: Capital Gains Tax

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual cost of capital gains tax liabilities which are deferred by reinvesting the capital gains in the Enterprise Investment Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The capital gains tax deferral relief for 2009-10 and 2010-11 cost an average of £45 million a year.

EU Grants and Loans

Julian Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had on the availability of match funding for European Regional Development Fund grants.

Danny Alexander: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), has not had any formal discussions on the availability of match funding for European Regional Development Fund grants.
	The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has lead responsibility for EU Structural Funds policy overall. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Funding.

Financial Services: Taxation

Hazel Blears: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total tax revenue raised from the financial services sector was in each year since 2008-09.

Mark Hoban: Tax receipts from the financial services sector are available for corporation tax, PAYE income tax and class 1 national insurance contributions (NICs), value added tax (VAT), bank payroll tax (BPT) and insurance premium tax (IPT).
	Corporation tax net receipts for the financial services sector can be found in Table 11.1 A on the HMRC National Statistics website available at the following internet address. This table includes figures for the financial services sector for financial years from 2000-01. The sectors are defined by HMRC's summary trade classifications:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/table11-1a.pdf
	Total PAYE income tax and class 1 NICs received by HMRC in respect of employee and employer liabilities combined for the financial sector are shown in the accompanying table for 2008-09 to 2010-11.
	For PAYE, the financial intermediation sector, defined by the Office for National Statistics' Standard Industrial Classification 2003, is used.
	
		
			 Total receipts for PAYE income tax and class 1 NICs in respect of employee and employer liabilities combined from financial intermediation sector (2008-09 to 2010-11 years from May to April) 
			  Receipts (£ billion) 
			 2008-09 22.9 
			 2009-10 24.5 
			 2010-11 26.5 
			 Note: PAYE IT and NICs class 1 figures are slightly incomplete in that some late payments are omitted. These late payments represent about 1% of the total, and do so fairly consistently from year to year, so comparisons between years are not significantly affected. 
		
	
	The amount of Home VAT declared on traders' returns is published by trade group in table 2.3 of HMRCs latest VAT factsheet. This can be accessed at the following location on the internet:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=factvat
	The above figures do not include estimates of irrecoverable input VAT borne by the financial sector, robust estimates of which are not currently available, but which are significantly larger than the VAT collected from the sector itself.
	A bank payroll tax was levied on the bonuses awarded by banks and building societies in the financial year 2009-10 after 8 December 2009. The net yield raised by the bank payroll tax is estimated to be £2.3 billion, while gross receipts were £3.4 billion. An explanation of the methodology underlying the estimate of net yield can be found in the previous written answer given on 24 November 2010, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA337. In line with guidance from the Office for National Statistics, the yield from the bank payroll tax was allocated to the 2010-11 tax year, as this is the point at which the tax was passed into legislation.
	IPT liabilities and receipts can be accessed at the following location on the internet:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bullipt

Infrastructure

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his criteria for prioritising infrastructure.

Danny Alexander: Paragraph 2.1 of the “National Infrastructure Plan 2011” sets out the criteria used for selecting the priority infrastructure projects on which the Government will focus efforts to ensure delivery.
	The “National Infrastructure Plan 2011” is available on the HM Treasury website at the following link:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/national_infrastructure_plan2011.htm

Infrastructure: Finance

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of funding for the National Infrastructure Plan has been allocated to infrastructure projects in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Scotland, (c) England and (d) Wales.

Danny Alexander: The National Infrastructure Plan (NIP) is relevant to investment in reserved areas of infrastructure in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Table 2.3 on page 49 of the Autumn Statement contains the full list of new infrastructure spending. This includes UK-wide projects such as mobile network coverage and urban broadband. In Scotland this also includes carriages for the Caledonian sleeper train.
	The Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are responsible for planning and prioritising infrastructure investment in areas that are devolved. Where policy is devolved, as noted in Table 2.3 of the Autumn statement, the Administrations receive Barnett consequentials on comparable additional infrastructure spending of UK Departments in the normal way.

International Monetary Fund

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the UK has received as a return on funds made available to the International Monetary Fund in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Hoban: The interest paid to the UK on a portion of the quota subscription, known as the reserve tranche position (RTP), is calculated by the special drawing right (SDR) interest rate. SDR 700 million (£695 million) of the RTP is unremunerated, reflecting the element of the UK's quota that was made available to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before 1 April 1978 in gold. The UK does not receive any interest on this portion.
	The SDR interest rate is based on a weighted average of representative interest rates on short-term debt in the money markets of the SDR basket currencies. The rates used by the IMF to pay interest are explained on the IMF's website:
	http://www.imf.org/external/np/tre/sdr/burden/2011/022811.htm
	The interest received on the UK's RTP in the last 10 years is set out in the following table. This information is published annually in the Exchange Equalisation Accounts.
	
		
			  Interest received on the UK's RTP (£) 
			 2000-01 98 
			 2001-02 75 
			 2002-03 63 
			 2003-04 57 
			 2004-05 46 
			 2005-06 34 
			 2006-07 13 
			 2007-08 1 
			 2008-09 4 
			 2009-10 4 
			 2010-11 8

Planning: Expenditure

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate his Department has made of the financial costs of the planning system to the UK economy; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: Ministers have considered independent analyses and stakeholder views of costs associated with the planning system. In a report for the Department for Communities and Local Government, Professor Ball of the university of Reading suggested that the transaction costs of development control for major residential development alone may be up to £3 billion a year. The report is available online at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/507390/pdf/1436960.pdf
	In very recent evidence to the DCLG Select Committee, Professor Ball advised that the actual costs are likely to be higher than this, which could push total transaction costs for residential development from £3 billion to over £4 billion. This does not include costs for commercial developments.

Public Expenditure: Infrastructure

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of providing additional public infrastructure at present standards for additional UK residents projected for 2033.

Danny Alexander: The independent Office for Budget Responsibility published its latest ‘Fiscal sustainability report’ in July 2011. This sets out long-term projections for the effect of demographic pressures on the public finances. The report is available at the following link:
	http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/category/topics/long-term-sustainability/

Public Expenditure: Infrastructure

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much Barnett consequential funding will be paid for investment in infrastructure projects.

Danny Alexander: As part of the autumn statement announcement, the devolved Administrations will receive additional Capital DEL funding to support Infrastructure investment over four years. Please see following table.
	
		
			 £million 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Scotland 50 68 142 172 
			 Wales 0 39 81 97 
			 Northern Ireland 0 24 53 58

Public Sector: Expenditure

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether public sector spending will be greater than tax receipts in each year to 2015.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 5 December 2011
	Public sector spending will be greater than current receipts in each year to 2015.

Public Sector: Pensions

Claire Perry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of public sector workers of each gender (a) earning less than £15,000 per year who will see no increase in pension contribution rates and (b) earning between £15,000 and £21,000 per year who will see their increase in pension contribution rates capped at 0.6 per cent.

Danny Alexander: I set out in my written ministerial statement to Parliament on 19 July 2011, Official Report, columns 92-94WS, that there should be no increase in employee pension contributions for those earning less that £15,000 and no more than a 1.5% increase in total by 2014-15 for those earning up to £21,000. This amounts to a 0.6% increase in 2012-13 on a pro-rata basis.
	The following table shows the estimated gender distribution of public service workers earning on a full time equivalent basis (a) less than £15,000, and (b) between £15,000 and £21,000. The results are based on the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings published by the Office for National Statistics.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Female Male 
			 Total public service 67.1 32.9 
			 Earning less than £15,000 86.9 13.1 
			 Earning between £15,000 and £21,000 77.7 22.3

Stamp Duties: Westminster

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much stamp duty land tax has been paid in respect of properties purchased in One Hyde Park, London, in each quarter from 2009 to 2011.

Chloe Smith: All information held by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is subject through legislation to a strict duty of confidentiality. Disclosure of information in relation to specific transactions as requested would breach this duty.

Tax Collection

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in cases where HM Revenue and Customs has issued incorrect tax codes to individuals, it (a) charges those individuals interest and (b) otherwise penalises them financially for not paying their tax bills on time; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: Most people pay the right amount of tax through the PAYE system. However, the PAYE tax code represents an estimate of liability, and in a minority of cases therefore, an adjustment is needed after the end of the year to ensure that people pay the right amount. In particular, tax codes will not always reflect changes in an individual's circumstances during the tax year. At the end of the tax year HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) checks whether each individual has paid the correct amount of tax due.
	The reconciliation process for 2010-11 commenced in July 2011. Where possible, HMRC will collect underpayments of less than £3,000 during 2012-13 by making an adjustment in the tax code so that the amount due is recovered from the taxpayer's salary over the course of the tax year. Where this is likely to cause financial difficulty, HMRC may be able to spread the payments over two or three years. No interest or penalties are charged in these cases.
	Where the underpayment is £3,000 or over or cannot be collected by an adjustment in a future tax code, for example because the individual may no longer be in receipt of PAYE income, HMRC will ask for a voluntary payment. Interest will not be charged providing taxpayers engage with HMRC and agree to pay their underpayment. Where payment is not made voluntarily it is requested through Self Assessment where interest and penalties may be charged on payments made late.
	People who face financial difficulty in paying tax underpaid will be treated sympathetically and should contact HMRC immediately. Further information and advice is available on the HMRC website at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/p800/paye-tax-calcs.htm

Taxation: Nuclear Power

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the possible introduction of a tax on the revenue generated by nuclear power stations.

Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers hold regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a wide range of issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

DEFENCE

Eurofighter Typhoon

Lorraine Fullbrook: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of recent export campaigns for the Eurofighter Typhoon; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: There remains strong interest in Typhoon. It has been selected by India to participate in the final phase of its medium multi-role combat aircraft competition. It is also competing in a number of other important markets, including Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, and Switzerland.
	I expect an increase in interest in Typhoon following its highly successful air defence and ground attack roles in Libya, in which it consistently demonstrated exceptional levels of reliability, performance, accuracy, and overall cost-effectiveness.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding he has allocated to Blue Force Tracking and similar systems; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: Combat Identification (CID) is not a simple task in the complex environments in which our armed forces operate. It is a holistic effort that involves tactics, training and techniques as well as investment in equipment. A large number of equipment projects contribute indirectly to improvements in our overall CID capability. However, specific capabilities include:
	The Bowman Tactical Communication System, with support funding of around £180 million until 2013. Future capability will be provided through the Land Environment Tactical CIS project at an approximate cost of £2.5 billion.
	Helicopter and ground asset tracking systems for Afghanistan, at an annual cost of £3.5 million paid for from the Reserve.
	Casualty Locating Beacon (CLB), procured under Urgent Operational Requirement timelines at a cost of £60 million.
	Identification Friend or Foe (IFF), a system of transponders that are directly integrated into individual platforms enabling them to be identified within the battlefield environment. Funding has been allocated to develop a successor IFF system.
	Small boat communications system (XERES), which provides a combat identification capability for which we have allocated around £400,000 of funding. The current capability will be replaced with a Bowman tactical communication system solution from 2014.
	Where detailed costs have not been provided this is because the main investment decision has yet to be made and disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the menu is for soldiers serving in Afghanistan on Christmas day; and what the estimated cost is of each meal.

Andrew Robathan: On Christmas day in Afghanistan, troops and support staff in locations where chefs are present and the security situation allows will be served a full English breakfast, traditional turkey lunch with trimmings, and a buffet supper. Other meal options will also be available for those with special dietary requirements.
	The estimated cost of the troops' meals for the day is £5.50, however this is the cost of the raw ingredients only, and as such, it is difficult to break this down into the three meals. We estimate that the traditional turkey lunch costs approximately £2.75.

Armed Forces: Drugs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what his Department's policy is on mandatory drug tests for (a) officials and (b) service personnel;
	(2)  how many members of his Department have been disciplined following a drug offence in the last 12 months.

Andrew Robathan: The armed forces do not tolerate the taking of illegal drugs within their ranks, as it is incompatible with military service and reduces operational effectiveness. All service personnel are subject to random compulsory drug testing. Providing a positive result, indicating the presence of illegal substances, will almost certainly result in an administrative discharge. These measures are well known and are a condition of service.
	For civil servants, random mandatory testing is carried out in respect of officials employed in safety critical posts, such as armed police officers or the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. In addition, where there is due cause to suspect an officer is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a test can be conducted. Failure is considered a major disciplinary offence and can result in dismissal.
	There were fewer than 15 members of the armed forces convicted by courts-martial in the last 12 months for drugs related offences, such as possession or intent to supply illegal drugs, under service law. In addition there were some 104,600 compulsory drug tests conducted. There were in the region of 500 members of the armed forces whose test showed traces of illegal substances. Almost all have been, or can expect to be, administratively discharged. Retention will only be considered in very exceptional, and isolated, circumstances. Records indicate that no civil servant was disciplined for a drugs-related offence.

Armed Forces: Housing

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel returning from Germany he expects to be based within 40 miles of their families' living quarters.

Nick Harvey: It is too early to be specific, but I expect that the vast majority of service personnel will be based well within 40 miles of their living accommodation.
	Tri-Service regulations state that service personnel are entitled to service family accommodation (SFA) at, or within a 10-mile radius, of their permanent duty station. In areas where there are pressures on SFA, this may be extended up to a 20-mile radius with the permission of their Service Command. In exceptional cases this distance can be further extended. In London, personnel are usually entitled to SFA within 90 minutes travel time using public transport. Exceptional arrangements can be made, for instance, for reasons of personal choice.
	Some personnel relocated to Dalton Barracks, Abingdon, are being housed beyond the 20-mile radius. Single soldiers will move into barracks in Bicester and families will move predominantly to Arborfield. This is exceptional.

Armed Forces: Housing

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) RAF personnel have been asked to vacate their service accommodation in advance of deployment to Afghanistan in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) RAF personnel have been asked to vacate their service accommodation in advance of deployment overseas in the last year for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: No service families are asked to vacate their service family accommodation in advance of, or because of, an operational deployment, and therefore will remain in their homes during the deployment.
	Unless posted to a new location after deployment personnel should expect to return to their single living accommodation after their deployment.

Armed Forces: Housing

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the (a) closest, (b) furthest and (c) average distance between barracks and service family accommodation at (i) Kinloss and (ii) Cottesmore barracks;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the (a) closest, (b) furthest and (c) average distance between service family accommodation and barracks.

Andrew Robathan: No estimate has been made. However, personnel are usually allocated Service Family Accommodation (SFA) at, or within, a ten mile radius of their permanent duty station, and this is the case at Kinloss and Cottesmore. In areas where there are pressures on SFA, this may be extended up to a twenty-mile radius with the permission of the appropriate service command and in exceptional cases, special dispensation may be granted to accommodate personnel beyond this limit.
	Personnel may also request temporarily surplus SFA at other locations for reasons of personal choice.

Armed Forces: Housing

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list each army accommodation site in the UK.

Andrew Robathan: The term ‘army accommodation site’ is not one used by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and therefore no such list is held.
	However, Annex A of the Defence Estate Development Plan 2009 contains details of Army barracks and other MOD establishments in the UK and overseas. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Housing

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria his Department uses to determine the maximum rent which is paid for accommodation for (a) civilian and (b) service staff.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 6 December 2011
	The majority of single living accommodation and some service family accommodation (SFA) is owned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and therefore no rent is paid to any other landlord. The majority of SFA in England and Wales is owned by Annington Homes Ltd and the MOD pays 42% of the agreed market rent. Where SFA and substitute service accommodation is rented from other providers, the MOD may pay up to the current market rent for the property.
	Although civilian personnel are responsible for their own private accommodation, where they are temporarily transferred to a location outside of the reasonable daily travel of their main home, they may stay in temporary private accommodation. This accommodation is sourced through a specialist relocation contractor who will find accommodation that meets the Department's criteria. In areas which offer temporary accommodation at a premium levels, the set criteria is supplemented with guidance on maximum rental limits.

Armed Forces: Housing

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the 20 most expensive substitute civilian staff accommodation properties rented out were in the last 12 months for which figures are available; what the postal district was of each such property; and how many occupants there were in each.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 6 December 2011
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not recognise the term ‘substitute civilian staff accommodation' and therefore the requested information is not held.
	To make best use of temporarily surplus service accommodation, eligible civilian personnel may be allowed to occupy it on a non-entitled basis, but we do not fund substitute service accommodation for civilian use.
	However, MOD civilian employees who are relocated to a location that is outside of reasonable travelling distance either as a result of a permanent or temporary posting are entitled to reimbursement of additional and reasonable costs incurred with occupying private temporary accommodation they are responsible for arranging.

Armed Forces: Housing

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the 50 most expensive (a) substitute service family accommodation and (b) substitute service single accommodation properties rented out were in the last 12 months for which figures are available; what the postal district was of each such property; and how many occupants there were in each.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 6 December 2011
	Substitute service family accommodation (SSFA) and substitute service single accommodation (SSSA) properties may be rented to accommodate service families and single serving personnel respectively when no suitable Ministry of Defence accommodation is available to entitlement at or close to the duty station. Substitute accommodation is only used as a last resort.
	The 50 most expensive SSFA properties rented in the last 12 months are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Postal district Rent (£ pcm) 
			 London SW 4,590 
			 London NW 4,333 
			 London SW 4,248 
			 London SW 4,248 
			 London SW 4,117 
			 London NW 4,099 
			 London W 4,038 
			 London NW 4,017 
			 London SW 3,956 
			 Twickenham 3,930 
			 London S W 3,922 
			 London SW 3,886 
			 London SE 3,886 
			 London SW 3,867 
			 London SW 3,756 
			 London NW 3,713 
			 London NW 3,640 
			 Slough 3,605 
			 London W 3,575 
			 St Albans 3,530 
			 London W 3,467 
			 Harrow 3,300 
			 London E 3,299 
			 Slough 3,250 
			 Hemel Hempstead 3,212 
			 London SW 3,186 
			 Hemel Hempstead 3,159 
			 Hemel Hempstead 3,150 
			 London SW 3,132 
			 Slough 3,102 
			 Hemel Hempstead 3,059 
			 Harrow 3,023 
			 Southampton 3,000 
			 Hemel Hempstead 2,850 
			 London E 2,847 
			 London SW 2,847 
			 Harrow 2,843 
			 Kingston Upon Thames 2,830 
			 Hemel Hempstead 2,800 
			 Hemel Hempstead 2,800 
		
	
	
		
			 Kingston Upon Thames 2,775 
			 Oxfordshire 2,769 
			 Hemel Hempstead 2,769 
			 Slough 2,767 
			 London NW 2,743 
			 Slough 2,738 
			 Hemel Hempstead 2,738 
			 Hemel Hempstead 2,725 
			 Slough 2,725 
			 London W 2,720 
		
	
	The 50 most expensive SSSA properties rented in the last 12 months are shown in the following table. More than one service person may occupy an SSSA property.
	
		
			 Postal district Number of occupants Rent (£ pcm) 
			 London SE 3 2,600 
			 London SW 2 2,383 
			 London SW 2 2,330 
			 London W 2 2,310 
			 London SW 2 2,305 
			 London SW 2 2,275 
			 London SW 2 2,240 
			 London SW 2 2,240 
			 London SW 2 2,240 
			 London SW 2 2,166 
			 London SW 2 2,100 
			 Portsmouth 4 1,800 
			 London SW 2 1,793 
			 London SW 1 1,785 
			 London SW 2 1,742 
			 London E 2 1,733 
			 London SW 2 1,725 
			 London W 1 1,720 
			 London SW 2 1,680 
			 London SW 1 1,677 
			 London SW 2 1,668 
			 London SW 2 1,655 
			 London SW 2 1,655 
			 Oxfordshire 3 1,650 
			 London E 2 1,633 
			 London SE 2 1,630 
			 London NW 2 1,630 
			 London E 2 1,611 
			 London SW 2 1,600 
			 Twickenham 1 1,600 
			 London W 1 1,599 
			 London E 2 1,580 
			 London N 2 1,575 
			 London N 2 1,570 
			 London W 2 1,565 
			 London E 2 1,550 
			 London E 2 1,550 
			 London E 2 1,550 
			 London N 2 1,550 
			 London SW 1 1,547 
			 London NW 1 1,547 
			 London W 1 1,547 
			 Harrow 2 1,540 
			 London SE 2 1,530 
			 London SW 1 1,530 
		
	
	
		
			 London SW 2 1,530 
			 London SW 1 1,516 
			 London SW 1 1,503 
			 London SW 1 1,503 
			 London NE 3 1,500

Capita

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contracts his Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each such contract.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded six contracts to Capita or its associated companies since May 2010, with a total value of just over £13 million. The six contracts cover provision of technical support, medical services, and communication and information systems. These contracts fall within the following value ranges:
	
		
			 Contract value banding Number of contracts 
			 £5 million to £10 million 2 
			 £100,000 to £250,000 3 
			 Under £100,000 1 
			 Total contracts 6 
		
	
	This information was taken from the MOD's defence business service finance contracts database as at 1 December 2011.

Christmas: Expenditure

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies plan to spend on Christmas (i) cards, (ii) postage, (iii) parties and (iv) decorations in 2011;
	(2)  how much his Department (a) has spent and (b) plans to spend on Christmas (i) trees, (ii) decorations and (iii) parties in 2011.

Andrew Robathan: This response covers the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and its agencies, but excludes trading funds which are outside the MOD's departmental boundary for financial reporting purposes.
	The Chief of Defence Staff plans to spend this year £75 on Christmas cards, and £54 on postage. The Chief of the Defence Staff has an authorised one-off dispensation to purchase and send Christmas cards on behalf of the armed forces to his international opposite numbers at public expense.
	There are no plans to spend any money for Christmas trees, decorations or parties at the MOD main building.
	The Department's rules on the use of public money rule out expenditure on Christmas trees, decorations and parties, with the exception of expenditure which is covered by the Family Welfare Grant. This grant supports activities that enhance the morale of families of service personnel who are enduring the stress of being separated from their loved ones serving in a dangerous operational theatre.
	The Land Forces Top Level Budget has identified planned expenditure of £80 on Christmas trees, £1,000 on decorations, and £14,920 on parties. These will be funded from the Family Welfare Grant and are for the families of service personnel deployed on operations during the festive period. The majority of this expenditure will be for the families of units from 20 Armoured Brigade, currently serving in Afghanistan.

Procurement

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the Yellow Book costs to his Department following the redundancies announced by BAE Systems.

Peter Luff: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has not yet entered into negotiations with BAE Systems about the potential liabilities to the MOD under the Yellow Book rules as a result of their recently announced rationalisation programme. Any figures discussed or agreed, however, would be commercial in confidence.

Consultants

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Upper Bann of 21 October 2011, Official Report, column 1167W, on consultants, how many contracts of more than £20,000 his Department has awarded to external consultants since July 2010; what the details of each such contract were; and how many such proposals required approval from the Efficiency and Reform Group.

Peter Luff: Between 1 August 2010 and 31 August 2011 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) placed 29 contracts for management consultancy valued at over £20,000, the combined value of which was £15.2 million. In accordance with the Efficiency Reform Group (ERG) approvals process, six of those contracts required ERG approval before being granted. During the financial year 2009-10, the MOD spent a total of £79 million on management consultancy, which fell to £26 million during the financial year 2010-11. These figures are inclusive of expenditure on contracts placed in previous years.
	The details of the contracts and the ERG approvals sought in accordance with the agreed process are detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 Requirement description Supplier name ERG Approval at  nine  month point? Total approved spend (£) 
			 Defence Acquisition Reform Programme (DARP) Project Management Capability Atkins Ltd No < 9 months 218,000 
			 ERP Project—Implementation and Development—Technical Services Capgemini PLC No—approved prior to 24 May 2010 60,000 
		
	
	
		
			 Legal Services Davitt Jones Exempt Legal Council 150,000 
			 SDSR Contract re-negotiation Deloitte No < Nine months 120,000 
			 External Assistance for Defence Infrastructure Transformation Programme Deloitte Yes 816,000 
			 Provision of training needs analysis in support Unit Welfare Workers Explosive Learning Solutions No—approved prior to 24 May 2010 43,500 
			 TUPE advice to the RPP Project Hewitt, Bacon and Woodrow No—approved prior to 24 May 2010 60,000 
			 AHL Strategic Advice and Support KPMG No < Nine months 110,782 
			 Flight Simulation and Synthetic Trainers—PUMA KPMG, Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP No < Nine months 160,000 
			 MIB—Programme Office Manager LA International No—approved prior to 24 May 2010 49,400 
			 AIS-PM LAMBTON LA International No—approved prior to 24 May 2010 27,030 
			 Corporate HQ—CDM EPP Phase 1 LEK Consulting Ltd No < Nine months 86,900 
			 Project Phoenix Mills and Reeve No—approved prior to 24 May 2010 59,850 
			 Joint Suppy Chain Services PWC No < nine months 26,309 
			 Carry out a soft issues assessment of the six bidders competing for new ISP contracts Quatrosystem Ltd No < nine months 103,177 
			 Z9A2085Y10—Structural Engineer Surveys of Hangers at West Freugh as a potential site to store the 2nd line equipment of 19 Brigade Royal Haskoning No 28,000 
			 To undertake work for the new operating model for DIO Transcend No—approved prior to 24 May 2010 48,500 
			 ERP Project— Implementation and Development—Project Team Costs—Cutover Management Worldwide Technology UK Ltd Yes 168,006 
			 DNPS HR Research Attitude Survey 2010-2012 Harris Interactive Ltd No < nine months 170,000 
			 Cost Assurance and Analysis Service (CASS) Development Programme—Cost Forecasting KPMG LLP Yes 12,000,000 
			 Assessment of the Admiralty Interview Board TMP (UK) Ltd No < nine months 27,150 
			 Development of Tactical Doctrine for Firearms Operations at National Infrastructure Sites Aldersgate Partners LLP No < nine months 76,800 
			 Heath needs Audit for Nuclear Test Veterans Miles and Green Associates Ltd Yes 74,000 
			 Provision of a Cultural Advisor to the Task Force in Helmand/Afghanistan InterCultures Ltd No—UOR 49,770 
			 Review of RN Selection Kenexa No < nine months 27,000 
			 NATO Capability Culture Scoping Study Cranfield University No—NATO 48,414 
			 Field Army Stock Efficiency Systems Consultants Services Ltd Yes 100,000 
			 Future Defence Storage and Distribution programme Ernst and Young Yes 222,000 
			 The application of NATO software systems for sustainability Planning Analix Ltd No—NATO 59,550 
			 Total value of the 29 contracts awarded to external consultants from 1 July 2010 to 31 August 2011   15,190,138 
		
	
	Please note: The data above do not include any contacts placed before 1 July 2010 or contracts which are awaiting ERG approval nor those contracts which are on hold.

Consultants

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contracts his Department has awarded to management consultants (a) since the publication of the Strategic Defence and Security Review and (b) in 2010-11; and what the total value is of those contracts.

Peter Luff: Between 19 October 2010 and 31 October 2011, 72 contracts with a total value of £9.931 million were awarded to companies providing services to the Ministry of Defence under the Government Procurement Services definition of management consultancy. During the financial year (FY) 2010-11 the total number of contracts awarded was 159, with a total value of £23.308 million. During FY 2009-10, based on the data held centrally, the number of contracts awarded was 288, with a total value of £63.799 million.

Consultants

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which management consultancies provided services to his Department during the last 12 months.

Peter Luff: Since 1 October 2010, the following firms have provided services to the Ministry of Defence, under the Government Procurement Services definition of management consultancy. This relates to contracts with a value over £20,000. We do not hold data centrally on contracts below £20,000 in value and this could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Hewitt Associates, Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow, LA International, Intercultures Ltd, Atkins Ltd, Harris Interactive Ltd, TMP(UK) Ltd, Cranfield University, Systems Consultants Services Ltd, Explosive Learning Solutions, PWC, Quatrosystem Ltd, Transcend, KPMG, Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP, Kenexa, LEK Consulting Ltd, Deloitte, Davitt Jones, Denton Wilde Sapte, Pinsent Masons, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Burges Salmon LLP, Simmons & Simmons.
	Total spend on management consultancy in the financial year 2010-11 was £26 million, compared to £79 million for financial year 2009-10.

Parliamentary Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of written questions for answer on a named day received a substantive answer within five working days in each of the last six months.

Andrew Robathan: The information requested, broken down by each of the last six months, is as follows:
	
		
			 Month (2011) Number of written questions for answer on a named received Number answered substantively within five working days Percentage 
			 June 76 65 86 
			 July 102 94 92 
			 August 0 n/a n/a 
			 September 75 58 77 
			 October 107 70 65 
			 November 137 94 69 
			 Total 497 381 77 
		
	
	The Government are committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the Session. Statistics relating to Government Departments' performance for the 2009-10 Session were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website.

Ex-servicemen: Employment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much his Department has spent on Career Transition Partnership in each year since it was established;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on the Employment Support Programme in each year since its creation;
	(3)  how much his Department spent on the full resettlement programme in each year since its creation.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 1 December 2011
	The following table provides information on the costs attributed to the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) since 1 April 1998. We do not maintain records of the costs for individual resettlement programmes, as this is a matter for the CTP.
	
		
			 Financial year Costs (£ million) 
			 1998-99 2.166 
			 1999-2000 5.744 
		
	
	
		
			 2000-01 6.222 
			 2001-02 6.368 
			 2002-03 6.313 
			 2003-04 6.518 
			 2004-05 7.139 
			 2005-06 8.236 
			 2006-07 8.458 
			 2007-08 9.028 
			 2008-09 8.371 
			 2009-10 7.143 
			 2010-11 8.089

Ex-servicemen: Employment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  in which sectors of the economy veterans find careers once they have left the armed forces;
	(2)  in which main sectors armed forces veterans have found careers through the (a) full resettlement service and (b) Employment Support programme since its creation.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 1 December 2011
	I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 November 2011, Official Report, column 812W, to the hon. Member for West Ham (Lyn Brown).

Ex-servicemen: Employment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces veterans have been through the Employment Support programme in each year since its creation.

Andrew Robathan: The following table provides information on the number of service leavers who have accessed the services of the Career Transition Partnership Employment Support programme for each financial year since 2005.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of early service leavers accessing CTP (1) 
			 2005-06 2,900 
			 2006-07 3,000 
			 2007-08 3,500 
			 2008-09 3,300 
			 2009-10 3,200 
			 2010-11 (2)— 
			 (1) All figures rounded to nearest 10. (2) Not yet available.

Geneva Convention

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 534W, on the Geneva Convention, how many in-service weapons have not had their legality reviewed under Article 36 in Amended Protocol 1 of the Geneva Convention.

Nick Harvey: There are more than 1,800 weapons and systems currently in the UK armed forces inventory which were brought into service before the obligation to legally review against Article 36 in Amended Protocol 1 came into force for the UK in 1999. The obligation is not retrospective. Since 1999 all weapons and equipment entering service have been subject to a formal legal weapons review in accordance with Article 36.

Gurkha Resettlement Office

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many former Gurkhas registered with the Gurkha Resettlement Office who have settled in the UK since 2009 are between the ages of (a) 30 and 39, (b) 40 and 49, (c) 50 and 59, (d) 60 and 69, (e) 70 and 79 and (f) 80 and 89; and how many widows have registered.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 6 December 2011
	The Ministry Of Defence does not monitor the age profile of former Gurkhas who have settled in the UK. The age profile of former Gurkhas registered with the Gurkha Settlement Office in Kathmandu between 5 October 2009 and 25 November 2011 is shown in the following table. The number of widows who have registered in the same period is 499.
	
		
			 Ages Number 
			 30 to 39 3 
			 40 to 49 291 
			 50 to 59 736 
			 60 to 69 1,134 
			 70 to 79 530 
			 80 to 89 54

Gurkha Resettlement Office

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Gurkhas have registered with the Gurkha Resettlement Office in Kathmandu since 2009.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 6 December 2011
	The number of former Gurkhas registered with the Gurkha Settlement Office in Kathmandu between 5 October 2009 and 25 November 2011 is 2,751.

Gurkha Resettlement Office

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which local authority areas Gurkha veterans and their dependents have settled since 2009; and how many have settled in each local authority area.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 6 December 2011
	This information is not recorded by the Ministry of Defence because there is no requirement to do so. However, we have estimates from Gurkha communities that the main concentrations of Gurkha veterans, excluding dependants, as at 14 June 2011 was as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Hampshire 4,256 
			 Kent 1,500 
			 London 980 
			 Surrey 687 
			 Berkshire 350 
			 Wiltshire 321 
		
	
	It is not known whether these Gurkha veterans settled in the UK under the 2004 or the 2009 immigration changes.

Gurkhas: Pensions

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the Gurkha veterans who have settled in the UK since May 2009 are classified as (a) service pensioners and (b) welfare pensioners.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 6 December 2011
	No information is held to identify whether Gurkha veterans who have settled in the UK since May 2009 are service or welfare pensioners.

Harrier Aircraft

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether the sale price for the Harrier jump jet includes intellectual property rights for their upgrade;
	(2)  what methodology his Department used to calculate the sale price for the Harrier jump jet;
	(3)  with how many (a) private contractors and (b) national governments his Department has had discussions on the sale of Harrier jump jets.

Peter Luff: The UK-owned Harrier aircraft are included in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the USA, Italy and Spain. Given the support arrangements that were set out in the MOU, which requires first refusal to be given to these nations, the UK offered the Harrier aircraft and assets to these nations. A declared intent from the US Government to purchase the majority of Harrier assets meant that sale to commercial enterprises was not explored. Interest in the Harrier aircraft was received from two non-MOU countries but detailed discussions did not take place.
	The value of the sale was established by negotiation following market analysis taking into consideration the net book value of the assets. Further allowance was made for the UK not providing any forms of warranty, guarantee or indemnity for the state, condition, accuracy, fitness for purpose, quality or standard of any of the Harrier assets or documentation.
	The sale price of Harrier assets to the US Government did not include Intellectual Property Rights.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long a delay in delivery has been caused by ordering C rather than B variant joint combat aircraft.

Peter Luff: There has been no delay to the delivery of our operational test and evaluation aircraft and we will receive our first UK aircraft in May 2012.
	Due to the incremental procurement strategy we are yet to place orders for production aircraft.

Navy

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what period elapsed between the initial gate decision and full operational capability in respect of each Royal Navy (a) surface vessel and (b) submarine commissioned in the last 10 years.

Peter Luff: Initial gate approvals and declaration of full operating capability are given on a class basis rather than by individual vessel and the relevant dates are listed in the following table. Initial gate is approval to undertake development and evaluation of options within an assessment phase to determine which best meets the requirement. Full operating capability is when the full planned military capability is delivered, which is usually some time after the last ship in the class has been commissioned. The concept of initial gate was introduced in 1998 following the strategic defence review, so those classes of vessel which had been approved before then did not undergo such a process. The information provided is for each of the classes of Royal Naval surface vessel and submarine for which one or more vessels has been commissioned within the period 1 December 2001 to 30 November 2011.
	
		
			 Vessel class Date of initial gate Date of full operating capability for class 
			 Astute Class submarines(1) n/a (5)— 
			 Type 45 destroyers(2) n/a (5)— 
			 Type 23 frigates(1) n/a 2002 
			 River Class(3) n/a 2004 
			 HMS Clyde(4) 2003 2007 
			 HMS Protector(4) 2010 2011 
			 HMS Albion/Bulwark(1) n/a 2004 
			 Sandown Class(1) n/a 2001 
			 HMS Echo/Enterprise 1999 2004 
			 (1) The Department did not have an initial gate approval point when these programmes were initiated. For Type 23 the first frigate (HMS Norfolk) was laid down in 1985 and the last frigate (HMS St Albans) was commissioned in 2002. For the Astute programme, the Department considers the equivalent date to be 1991, and for HMS Albion/Bulwark 1991 and for the Sandown Class 1994. (2) The Type 45 programme was initially part of the Common New Generation Frigate (CNGF) project with France and Italy. The Type 45 programme was established when the UK withdrew from the CNGF element of the tripartite collaborative project. The Type 45 programme therefore went straight to main gate in August 2000. (3) An initial gate decision was not made for the River Class as the vessels were proposed by the shipbuilder Vosper Thorneycroft UK through an unsolicited bid. The Department placed a contract for the lease and support of the River Class in 2001. (4) HMS Clyde and Protector are non-complex vessels acquired through commercial lease arrangements, thus the period between initial gate and full operational capability is much shorter than for the other projects. (5) Not yet achieved.

Public Bodies Bill (HL) 2010-12

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what discussions (a) he, (b) his predecessor and (c) Ministers in his Department have had with the Royal British Legion on the Public Bodies Bill;
	(2)  what discussions he and Ministers in his Department have had with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice on the Public Bodies Bill and the Office of the Chief Coroner.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 5 December 2011
	The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has had no recent discussions with ministerial colleagues on the Public Bodies Bill and the office of the Chief Coroner. The Chief Coroner post is entirely a matter for the Ministry of Justice, although we have provided assistance with regard to the impact on military bereaved families and have engaged with both the Ministry of Justice and Cabinet Office on this matter.
	The Royal British Legion has made public its position on the Public Bodies Bill on many occasions and has referred to it in contacts with Defence Ministers and officials, but this is not a matter on which the Ministry of Defence takes the lead.

Sea King Helicopters

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely cost of extending the life of the Search and Rescue Sea King helicopters for (a) two, (b) five and (c) 10 years.

Peter Luff: The following table shows the estimated capital investment necessary to extend the life of the Ministry of Defence's Search and Rescue Sea Kings beyond their planned retirement. This is forecast to commence in 2015 and will conclude by March 2016.
	
		
			 Estimated costs for extending life of SAR Sea Kings beyond 2016 
			 Number of years £ million 
			 Two 20 
			 Five 100 
			 Ten 350 
		
	
	These costs are for extending the life of the airframe only, and do not include the costs for providing aircrew and maintainers, supporting the aircrew training system, including simulators, and providing associated management arrangements, all of which are to be provided by the contractor under arrangements announced by the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), on 28 November 2011, Official Report, columns 52-53WS. These costs also exclude the costs of actually operating and flying the aircraft. It should be noted that while Sea King helicopters could be run on, their older design and age means that their capability in terms of time to reach incidents and availability would remain lower than more modern helicopters, regardless of investment.

World War II: Medals

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to encourage former Bevin Boys to apply for the Bevin Boys Veterans Badge.

Andrew Robathan: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is the sponsor of the badge, and the Ministry of Defence issues the badge on their behalf. Full details of the badge, the eligibility criteria and the application process can be found on both the DECC and Veterans UK website.